Mathura, February 24: With the festival of colours just around the corner, people of Barsana and Nandgaon near Mathura smeared themselves in the joyous Lathmar Holi celebrations on Saturday. The festivity of Lathmar Holi in the state of Uttar Pradesh is an age-old practice and is being celebrated with great fervour for ages.  The festival got its name from the practice of playing Holi with sticks and waiting for the Gopis to arrive at Nandgaon.

As per Mythology, Lord Krishna visited Radha’s Village near Mathura on this day and teased her. The other women of Barsana started chasing him for this mischievous act.  Following Krishna, other men from the town started visiting the town of Barsana every year, only to be greeted by sticks (lathis) of the women staying there. This tradition continued for years and people started celebrating Lathmar Holi every year.

As per other legends, Krishna, who hailed from Nandgaon, visited Radha who lived in Barsana. Here he is believed to have teased Radha and her friends who took offence and drove him out of Barsana. It must be noted that the Lathmar Holi festivities last for over a week, where the participants dance, sing and immerse themselves in colours, marking the beginning of festival of colours.

On Saturday, Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath said that his government is trying to develop the various religious sites in the state into world-class tourist destinations. The Chief Minister is on his visit to Mathura to participate in Lathmar Holi, which was be held in Barsana today.   Security was beefed up in Barsana town for the Lathamaar Holi as the chief ministers of three states, along with several of their cabinet colleagues attended the event on Saturday.

As per reports by PTI, a total of 12 ASP, 30 police circle officers, 25 inspectors and SHOs, 250 sub-inspectors, 1300 constables, 100 traffic constables, 10 lady sub-inspectors, 30 lady constables, six horse-mounted personnel and UP-PAC would be deployed in Barsana, SSP Swapnil Mamgai said.

The influx of pilgrims this year is expected to rise manifold since the Uttar Pradesh government was making all-out efforts to convert this year's Lathamaar Holi of Barsana into a memorable event and register it in the Guinness Book of World Records.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Feb 24, 2018 06:08 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).