The Festival of Colours is just around the corner and everyone’s excited to start painting their friends with vibrant, beautiful colours. From marketplaces all over town you can find every nook decorated in some sort or other colour scheme that will make your heart smile! Unfortunately, these substances have been shown to be toxic and harmful both in nature as well on our environment. The chemicals in these seemingly innocent colours can cause much discomfort to our body ranging from mild rashes, brittle and dry hair to itching skin that may lead into severe long-term effects like bronchial asthma or allergic reactions. The harmful effects of these chemical colours are most prominent during Holi, when young children play with them.
We know that Holi without the lively colours is nothing more than a damp squib. As parents, we get extra cautious and decide to keep our children away from such things even though deep inside of us knows this isn’t what makes up an unforgettable festival like “Holi”. Some of us even try out costly eco-friendly colours that are available in the market these days, although their reliability has not yet been proven.
We all know that eco-friendly colours are nowadays available in the market, but their reliability is unknown. So do we have any other options?? Of course!! Just look around your kitchen, and you will find natural items from which can make a variety of bright hues for yourself or as gifts!
Here are some easy, creative and budget-friendly ways you can make your own natural colour for Holi. For this purpose we will need a colouring agent in addition to something that provides us with stability when mixed together – like base oils or butters! The use of different vegetables and herbs in this recipe gives it a colourful look while cornflour provides the base for stabilize with its anti-sticking properties. You can also substitute rice or gram flour (besan) if you want, but I recommend using Corn Flour because when wetted out it won’t stick to your skin like the other two types would!
1. Red
Take 2-3 beetroots and chop them up into little cubes. Grind them in the mixer, then sieve out any residue for a dark pink “juice.” Now take a spoonful of corn flour and add a few drops of beetroot juice until it becomes dark pink in color. After mixing together, place this slurry on both sides of roasted gram flour breads to give them an additional flavour. It is crucial to add the juice in small instalments so that you get a desired colour and consistency.
2. Yellow
This is such an easy and vibrant colour to use. All you need are turmeric powder or raw form, besan (or gram) flour for the perfect shade of orange! Another way is to grind up some raw turmeric and add it to cornflour or gram flour. The use of the raw form is meant to provide a much purer and brighter skin after he removes it. This yellow colour for Holi will also give your child’s complexion an amazing glow that people won’t be able to stop staring at!
3. Green
Blanching the spinach leaves in warm water and making a fine paste of them before straining yields dark green juice. Now add this delicious juice to the cornflour, and You will get a bright green colour to play Holi with your family and friends.
4. Blue
To make a colourful festival of colours, try adding blue food colouring to cornflour. You can also use indigo powder in its place if you prefer something more subtle and dark grey colouration instead!
5. Orange
To make the most beautiful of all colours, mix up red and yellow. Now you have an orange holi-like colour that will take your design to a whole new level!
6. Brown
To get the perfect Holi colour, you can either mix red and blue together or add henna powder in addition to AMLA (Indian gooseberry) for an exciting shade of brown.
7. Black
To make a black colour for Holi, mix together red, yellow and blue powders. Your desired shade is ready!
The idea behind these experiments is to find the perfect shade of each colour so that you can play Holi with maximum style. Holi is the time of colours, lights and fun! You can make your own colour with natural ingredients like lavender oil or sandalwood (chandan). Sprinkle some on those who love it to give them an aromatherapy experience this year. The festive mood of Holi should not be spoiled this year due to the harmful chemicals used by parents. Let’s enjoy a fun-filled and safe family holiday, especially for our children who can make eco-friendly colours at home!
