By: Dr Samayug Bhowmik, Bureau Chief-ICN West Bengal
KOLKATA: Holi is a festival of spring.It is a festival that strengthens relationships and spreads the message of brotherhood. It is predominantly celebrated with great enthusiasm in India and Nepal.Nowadays it is also celebrated in other countries of Asia and in Western countries .It is known as the “festival of colours“.
During spring season,due to the changes in weather, different types of viral illnesses e.g fever,cough and cold,chickenpox are common.
The playful smearing of naturally coloured powders made from herbs and other natural sources was earlier believed to have some protective value.
The colours were traditionally made of Neem, Haldi,Mehendi leaves, dried tea leaves, flowers of palash , Indian berries , beetroot ,Fruits of amla and so on. The colours are called ‘abir’ in Bengali and ‘gulal’ in Hindi.
In celebrating the festival, over enthusiastic people, often use different chemicals to produce an extraordinary mark of the desired colour that leaves a long lasting hue on the skin of not only human beings but also stray animals. These offensive chemicals invariably damage the outermost layer of the skin.
Not only that,these chemicals get absorbed in the skin thereby causing toxicity and often slowly damaging different vital organs. Furthermore often these chemicals when smeared on the face might cause irreparable harm to one’s eyes.
The colours available in the market at cheap rate are mostly made with different chemicals and heavy metals e.g. lead, chromium, cadmium, nickel, mercury, zinc that can lead to serious health problems.They may produce wide range of prolonged ill-effects starting from skin allergies, breathing difficulties and kidney failure. In fact, the mercuric sulphide content in some coloured powders is highly toxic and may even cause skin cancer.
There is another side to the story too. The holi revellers frequently consume ‘bhang‘(Cannabis in edible form) specially mixed in a popular drink named ‘thandai’ with or without alcoholic drinks which might further lead to disastrous consequences.
The ultimate experience of this admixture can be exhilarating as it induces feelings of euphoria with extreme relaxation, but the peak of euphoria may be unpleasant even fatal.
This happens as there becomes intense urge to feel the height of ecstasy. As a result, the revellers often tend to over consume bhang as there is very slow absorption after intake and again to get the same they often consume alcohol simultaneously.
Different studies on the effects of bhang showed that it can cause physiological and psychological changes such as an increase in heart rate which may reach to double that of the normal state of the particular individual and an increase in blood pressure specially the diastolic one.
That is why this simple recreational use of bhang certainly poses significant risk to patients suffering from heart disease and hypertension and all these effects will be experienced some hours later.
In case of first time consumers, the peak may come suddenly and unexpectedly. The perception of increased heart rate may trigger panic attacks with a feel of palpitations and cold sweats and fear psychosis of impending death.
There may be intense headache moreover there may be other psychotic symptoms as if the consumer may display the signs of hostility, disorientation, excitement, and increased paranoia.
The intrinsic cognitive function may also be impaired e.g. slurred speech and impaired thought process. Also some may become claustrophobic. Again a few bhang consumers may think alcohol intake may produce more fun or may be a good medium to dilute the effect of bhang, but it’s not true, it may turn to fatality.
Although festivals are meant to be enjoyed whole-heartedly, a few safety measures must be kept in mind.
DO’S :
1)Keep children and pets safe during the festival. Colors, if they go inside the eyes or mouth, can be severely harmful.
2) Wear full sleeved clothes to prevent the colours from sticking to the skin.
3) Remove contact lenses and if possible, wear sunglasses and keep water nearby while playing with colours.
4)Splash water on your face and eyes as and when required.
5) Apply oil or moisturizer on your body liberally, so that it is easier to get rid of the stains later.
6) Apply oil your hair properly before playing Holi.
7) Have a proper nutritious breakfast and stay well hydrated.
DON’T S :
1) Avoid consuming bhang or alcohol simultaneously. Don’t drink bhang /alcohol in empty stomach. If you at all consume any one avoid the other.
2) Don’t take any pain killer to get relief from headache/body ache after bhang ingestion.
3) Don’t drive after having bhang/alcohol.
4) If you have heart disease or hypertension, please avoid bhang/alcohol.
5) Do not play with strangers as you never know what kind of colours they are using.
6) Do not throw color filled balloons at passersby on the road.
With these above guidelines, if followed, I hope you will be able to enjoy Holi.Play safe. Happy Holi.
