Painting of King Muhammad Shah playing Holi in history book
– Photo: File photo
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Holi festival was celebrated with great pomp during the Mughal period. The emperors did not shy away from colour, but loved it. This thing is mentioned in history. Emperor Jahangir used to throw colors on his courtiers with a bamboo water pipe.
AMU’s Emeritus Professor and Historian Prof. Irfan Habib told that in history there is mention of throwing color in the shell of cattle horn. After this, Emperor Jahangir got a bamboo water pipe made. By filling it with colors, he used to play Holi with the courtiers and kings in his palace. Apart from Emperor Jahangir, there are also pictures of Emperor Mohammad Shah playing Holi.
He told that the soldiers of the Mughal period also used to play Holi among themselves. Once soldiers played Holi in the market. He got lost in the fun and this started causing problems to the Riya (people). The king came to know about this. He was very angry because the soldiers were allowed to play Holi in the cantonment only. This is mentioned in history.
Maulana Hasrat used to go to offer Namaz wearing colored clothes.
AMU alumnus Maulana Hasrat Mohani has given importance to the colors of Holi in his ghazals. He loved Shri Krishna. Maulana Hasrat Mohani used to go to offer Namaz daily wearing colored clothes. Former Public Relations Officer of AMU, Dr. Rahat Abrar said that Mohani has expressed his love for Mohan a lot in his ghazals. Read its song – Mose chher karat Nandlal liye tare abeer gulal, Dheeth bhayi jin ki barjori auran pour color, Hum hum jo diye ki deye ke hote hai, take out all this deception, Mope color na dar murari begiti hoon Tihari, Paniya bharan jaaye na Men and women look at their bodies with black eyes, trembling with shame and lust.
Hasrat used to play Holi with great enthusiasm. He said that Qazi Abdul Abbasi wrote about Hasrat Mohani – “On the eve of Holi, I saw Hasrat roaming around in clothes soaked in colours. I asked with surprise, what is this, Maulana? He replied, Dr. Murari Lal’s wife threw color on me. “Maulana wore this colorful attire for the next few days and also offered Namaz regularly.