This is part 1 of our 4-part Behind-the-Book long-form series documenting the making of an English-Hindi picture book, Happy Hippotastic Holi, for children ages 4-8 years old. Coming Holi 2026!

Holi used to scare me.

Each spring, towns across India and now around the globe burst into clouds of pinks, blues, yellows, and greens as people celebrate Holi, the Hindu festival of colors. 

For children, it’s often introduced as a joyful day of play, sweets, and rainbow-colored fun. But growing up, I saw adults smear colors forcefully, throw water balloons (sometimes even eggs), and even drag people into mud. Girls of all ages were told to be extra cautious because bad touches were too common, disguised as “festive fun”. 

Children often mimic adults. Those who stayed on the sidelines were mocked or pulled in, dismissed with five words:

“Bura na mano, Holi Hai.”

“Don’t be offended, it's Holi.”

That phrase became a cultural permission slip to override personal boundaries. 

🌸 A Personal Story, A Collective Need

As someone who has had the unfortunate experiences of having her consent violated as a child as well as an adult, Holi brings up a mix of anxiety along with festive joy.

As a parent, I notice how much my childre are naturally drawn to the joyful aspects of Holi yet are sometimes hesitant, choosing how and if they participate. I want them to have that choice.

No shame. No pressure. No guilt.  

What if there was a children’s book that helped them do that?

🌈 Expanding the narrative from ‘Why Holi?’ to ‘How to Holi?’

Even in India, local governments, police departments, and brands like Yoho Footwear, Bharat Matrimony, and Tinder have started raising awareness about consent during Holi because of widespread incidents of harassment each year.

A 2022 Tinder India survey found that 65% of young adults between the ages of 18 and 30 don’t know how to give or withdraw consent. Many do not even know what to do if their consent is violated.  

With nearly one-fourth of India’s population under 14, it is clear that conversation around consent must begin much earlier. While this data is from India, Holi is celebrated around the world by people of all backgrounds, much like Christmas or Halloween. 

As Holi moves into more shared and cross-cultural spaces, modeling care, choice, and consent becomes even more critical to making Holi inclusive.

🌻 What if someone doesn’t want to be colored? 

When I began imagining my second children’s book, I thought I would avoid another Indian festival story. There are already more than 20 Holi books in English (and fewer in Hindi) including Kahaani Rangeeli by T4Tales (Hindi only, with transliteration in English) and You Are One of a Kind by Sonali Patodia (English only). We have both of them, and both are beautiful additions to any Holi shelf. However, they do not mention consent themes. 

In my research, I came across less than 5 books that mention respecting others’ hesitation to join the festival or include a line like "Don’t put color on anyone who says no," often presented as a parent rule, as in Our Holi: Humaari Holi by Aditi Singh, a Hindi-English book. It is another good addition to the Holi shelf for bilingual families, especially those who prefer to read Hindi in English transliteration.

In a future post, I will share why my bilingual books only include Hindi in Devanagari script.

While mentioning consent is an important first step, I felt drawn to take it further by showing what happens before and after we create space for choice and care. Before, celebrations can feel chaotic, overwhelming, and even forced, turning participation into something children feel they must endure to belong. But with choice and care, Holi becomes an invitation rather than an expectation. Children learn they can express their feelings, say yes or no, and still be included in the joy. 

As a child, I did not have the words to express discomfort. But I want my children and others to know that:

Culture cannot cancel consent.

📚 Holi, in all its layers

We were told stories of how Holi came to be, passed down orally from thousands of years ago. In one version, child Krishna, a Hindu deity, wondered why his skin was so dark compared to his friend Radha’s fairer complexion. His mother advised him to spray colors on her and his friends, an act that became an inspiration to bury differences and celebrate together. 

Another popular version centers on the demoness Holika. A tyrannical king ordered his sister to burn his son, Prahlad, for worshiping god Vishnu. Holika sat with Prahlad in a fire, cloaked in a magical blanket meant to protect her, but the flames consumed Holika and spared the prince.

Holi derives its name from this story and Holika. But I’ve always wondered why name the festival after the demon instead of the resilient Prahlad or the Narsimha, the half-animal and half-man avatar of Vishnu who intervenes to kill the evil king? If you know why, do share in the comments below.

In Bundelkhand, considered Holi’s birthplace, people ironically mourn Holika and the king’s death by wearing black and staying indoors on Holi but eventually do rejoice with colors on the second day to mark the truce between gods and demons. Some trace Holi to Sita’s trial by fire, others to Shiva’s destruction (and later revival) of Kama, the Hindu deity of love. And some challenge the mainstream “demon” narratives altogether, seeing them as caste-coded portrayals of indigenous communities that are often perceived as lower-born.

🌾 An agrarian rhythm, often forgotten

While the mythological tales are widely known, a lesser-explored but equally vital layer of Holi's significance lies in its profound connection to agriculture.

India, with its deep agrarian and diverse indigenous roots, celebrates many festivals tied to the rhythm of its seasons and harvest cycle. The arrival of spring in India signifies the harvest of essential crops like wheat, barley, mustard, peas, chickpeas, which are winter-sown, post-monsoon season in India. 

Holi then becomes a celebration of a successful spring harvest, nature’s critical role and its bounty, resilience of farmers, and a prayer for the continued successful agricultural year ahead. 

On the eve of Holi, during Holika Dahan (that celebrates the burning of Holika in the fire meant for the resilient Prahlad), offerings of freshly harvested wheat and pulses are made to the bonfire. You can read more about these roots in the Indian agricultural blog, Krishi Jagaran.

🌟 A festival of many names and ways

Holi is not a monolith.

Across India and beyond, it’s celebrated in many regional forms:

Lathmar Holi, Hola Mohalla, Dol Jatra, Phaguwa, Yaosang, Basant Utsav, and more. 

And outside India, Holi is celebrated in Nepal, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, Fiji, Mauritius, Trinidad, Guyana, and Suriname, shaped by the Indian diaspora and local culture. 

You can explore these regional variations further on the Indian travel blog, Leisure India Holidays.

🔖 Books can shift the narrative. Gently.

Holi is often taught as technicolor fun where anything goes. But for many children, especially neurodivergent kids, those with sensory sensitivities, or children (and adults!) healing from past violations, Holi can be overwhelming.

When culture becomes performance, and participation becomes pressure, we risk teaching children that culture overrides personal boundaries.

But it doesn’t have to be that way.

Books can offer another path.

They can teach children to say,

“Would you like color?”

“Where can I apply it?”

“It’s okay to say no.”

And to respond with care:

“Thank you for telling me.”

“Let’s find another way to celebrate together.”

💖 Culture with consent is shared joy

When children learn to ask, wait, and listen, they are learning about relationships built on respect. When children know that their voices are respected and are an integral part of the culture, they are inspired to engage deeply. 

Culture with consent becomes shared joy. Chosen not forced. Living not performing. 

And Holi, at its heart, is about resilience, respect, and renewal. Not about overriding someone’s voice. In Krishna’s version of Holi, there is no mention of consent before the colors are applied to Radha, but as a Hindu I am confident that if Krishna were to speak today, he would agree: 

Consent, choice, and care are foundational to culture.

🎨 From the illustrator: On bringing empathy to culture

The illustrator of Happy Hippotastic Holi, Natasha B. Padhiar from Bright Blue Studio, shares:

“The empathy and understanding this story offers is so important…there is often a struggle between people-pleasing and having the strength to share our comfort levels. To be a part of a story that brings socio-emotional learning in a whimsical way, is something I'm grateful for, and I hope that this story is able to shift perspectives and bring more compassion to cultural celebrations.”

💬 Thank you & Shukriya for reading this til the end.

In the next installment of Behind-the-Book Series, you’ll get a peek into:

How Natasha brings her imagination to every page

• Our Storyboarding process
• Character sketches and birth of the hippos
• And the bilingual beat that echoes Hindi sounds and Devanagari shapes, inspiring both the rhythm of the story and layout.

You’ll see how we turned a simple but powerful “what if” into a deeply layered book that holds play, poetry, and purpose.

The little girl I once was (and still am!) is proud to help create the first children’s picture book where hippos model care, consent, and choice during Holi. Coming Holi 2026! 

Why hippos, you ask? Their natural love for water made them ideal for our Holi story's playful splashes, and the cheerful alliteration of 'Happy Hippotastic Holi' was simply irresistible!

🎧Listen to the English audio-read aloud of the manuscript that I shared during Holi 2025 below:

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