Holi in Akbar’s court and through European eyes

Express Research

EXPRESS RESEARCH

Dear reader,   Hope you had an pleasant Holi this week. In celebration of the festival, our story this week journeys back into the Mughal history of India to take a look at how emperors of the time reveled in the colours of Holi. Author Nilosree Biswas writes how Akbar, Jahangir and Shah Jahan energetically participated in Holi. Mughal art works are replete with depictions of emperors playing Holi in the open spaces of the zenana in the accompaniment of wine and music. Similar festivities were also a part of the court of Awadh and several of the Sufi shrines.    The festival of colours has often fascinated those from foreign lands. When the Europeans first started trading and later ruling over the Indian subcontinent, they described it variously as the ‘carnival of Hindus’ or the “Hindu spring festival in honour of Krishna, the amorous cowherd.” This story from our archives looks at the many ways in which Europeans documented their first experience of Holi in India.    As the Ukraine crisis rages on, the world appears to be on the verge of being thrown into the clutches of a second Cold War. This story by Mira Patel examines how the Cold War had shaped the global order as we know it today, and how that might impact the way in which individual countries respond to the Russian invasion in Ukraine.   Read the stories:    From Akbar’s court to Bulleh Shah couplets, how colours of India’s many religions blended over Holi Holi, Houly, Huli, Whoolye: How Europeans documented their encounter with India’s festival of colours How Cold War shaped global order, what it can teach us about a potential Cold War 2.0   Sincerely,   Adrija Roychowdhury

Holi, Houly, Huli, Whoolye: How Europeans documented their encounter with India's festival of colours   From Akbar's court to Bulleh Shah couplets, how colours of India's many religions blended over Holi   How Cold War shaped global order, what it can teach us about a potential Cold War 2.0   Why Ukraine matters to Russia

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