Prayagraj: A women self-help group (SHG) from Sangam city are preparing natural Holi colours using dried flowers they collect from temples, gardens and marriage halls.The group, Asharani Foundation, led by Abha Singh, is turning heads with its unique natural abeer, gulal and other colours, prepared with raw turmeric powder, palash, roses and marigold flowers, sandalwood and arrowroot powder.“The process includes drying up of roses, marigold, palash and cow dung ash, followed by a three-layer grinding to make a fine-quality paste and later mixed with arrowroot and sandalwood for natural fragrance,” said Abha Singh.These natural colours attract Holi revellers for their fragrance and quality, and for being skin-friendly.Interestingly, after acknowledging the benefits of cow dung ash, the women’s group is also making abeer and gulal with the help of spinach juice. After drying and filtering spinach juice through a multi-layer process, sandalwood powder and fine-quality cow dung ash are added to produce green-coloured abeer. Singh started this one-of-its-kind mission this Holi and wants to train more and more women to make them self-reliant.Speaking about the natural Holi products, she claimed that since demand started increasing and orders were received, they were making efforts to involve more women to cope with the demand.Moreover, women associated with SHGs in trans Ganga and trans Yamuna are also spending adequate time preparing organic Holi colours. Flowers, including dried roses and marigolds, are being used. The dried flower petals are processed and turned into powder form. The rough powder form of gulal is smoothed using cornflour, and colour elements such as turmeric for yellow and other similar natural colours.Colours sold in the market contain harmful chemicals which directly or indirectly harm the skin of those exposed to them. Besides, these chemicals reach our lungs through the air and impact them as well. Keeping this in mind, the SHG women are working with the aim of providing organic colours to the people.In trans Yamuna, a group of 15 women from a total of 2 self-help groups of the district used palak bhaji, laal bhaji, beetroot, turmeric and palash flowers. The women prepared a total of 100 kg of gulal. The women in the groups stated that they received training through the National Rural Livelihood mission.SHG women claimed that beetroot is used for pink colour, spinach for green, turmeric for yellow, and palash flowers for orange, and that other flowers and vegetables are used for other colours as well. These are dried and mixed with water to make a paste, after which gulal is prepared with natural fragrance, they added.
