The world's most famous Holi celebrations take place here.
Actress and Member of Parliament Hema Malini plays Krishna's Radha in a dance recital at the Braj Holi Raso Utsav in Mathura, Uttar Pradesh, believed to be the birth place of lord Krishna.
Photograph: PTI Photo.
Holi celebrations in Nandgaon, which is believed to be where Krishna lived as a child with his foster parents, last for several days.
Photograph: Manvender Vashist/PTI Photo.
Women from Barsana beat men with sticks, giving it the name Lathmaar Holi.
Barsana is believed to be the home of Krishna's love Radha, and on the first day of festivities men from Nandgaon visit Barsana to drench the women in colour. The women, in turn, resist them with sticks.
Photograph: PTI Photo.
Men from Barsana and Nandgaon smear gulal on each other in a mock battle in Nandgaon.
The day after the men of Nandgaon visit Barsana, the men from the latter town come to the former in a grand procession.
Photograph: Manvender Vashist/PTI Photo.
In Nandgaon, too, the women beat the men with sticks.
Photograph: Ravi Choudhary/PTI Photo.
Men who are caught are also made to dance in women's garbs.
Photograph: Manvender Vashist/PTI Photo.
It is said that the men and women of Nandgaon and Barsana still don't marry each other.
Photograph: Adnan Abidi/Reuters.
Songs in the language of Braj ring out with the festivities.
The legend, the uniqueness of lathmar and the evocative images they create have made the celebrations in Krishna's Braj a popular tourist attraction.
Photograph: Manvender Vashist/PTI Photo.
A widow dances in front of paintings of Lord Krishna and Radha at the ancient Gopinath Temple in Vrindavan, which is also famous for its close association with lord Krishna.
The holi played by widows -- breaking long held traditions -- has also become a popular celebration in Krishna's Braj.
Photograph: Manvender Vashist/PTI Photo.
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