Sufi saints like Hazrat Nizamuddin Aulia and Amir Khusrau in their chaste Persian and Hindi loved the festival. Emperor Bahadur Shah Zafar, whose Holi "phags (songs) are relished even today, allowed his Hindu ministers to tinge his forehead with "gulal during Holi festival each year.
During the Shahjahani tenure of Delhi, Holi was known as Eid-e-Gulabi (Pink Eid) or Aab-e-Pashi (Shower of Colourful Flowers), and truly so owing to its carnival spirit and hysterical rejoicing for both Hindus and Muslims.
The nobles, kings and nawabs exchanged rose water bottles and sprinkled them on each other along with the frenzied drumming of the "nagaras (drums).
This enlightened spirit percolated in the Mughals right from the time of the greatest Mughal emperor Akbar. Jahangir is shown holding Holi festivities in Tuzk-e-Jahangiri.
Many artists, especially Govardhan and Rasik, have shown Jahangir playing Holi with Noorjahan, his wife.
Mohammed Shah Rangila, in a remarkable painting, is shown running around the palace with his wife following him with a "pichkari, or water cannon.
Such examples are umpteen in Indias cultural heritage; and this has been enriched by the harmonious amalgamation and assimilation of various faiths and ethnicities.
Link showing Mughals and holi
Jodhpur, Mar 14 (ANI): Locals take out a procession depicting Mughal ruler Akbar and his witty courtier Birbal, next day of the colour of festival Holi in Jodhpur.
Dating back to around 250 years, the procession is an annual affair and is taken out next day of Holi by the people of Jodhpur and is an integral part of their culture.
The impersonators who dress up as Akbar and Birbal are chosen with great precision by the locals, as only bachelors or orphans qualify for the parts.
The impersonators lead a procession across the city and distribute dry colour or 'Gulal' to the residents.
According to residents, the gulal offering is considered precious and till the time the procession takes place, all the shops and other business establishments remain close.
"Until the procession of Akbar-Birbal passes by, the shops and other establishments remain closed. The gulal given by them as offering to the people is held in high regard by them. The women even keep it in their temples and worship it throughout the year," said Rajendra Lodha, a resident.
While rest of the country plays with colours on Holi, people in Jodhpur observe this age old tradition a day after the colour festival to bring in auspicious tidings on Holi.
Celebrated at the onset of spring, the festival also holds a mythological importance - that of the triumph of good over evil.
Detail from Portrait of Prince Salim (future emperor Jahangir)
Mughal, c. 1620-30
British Library, Add.Or.3854
In our exquisite painting of the celebration of Holi, a young ruler from the Mughal province of Avadh, is featured enjoying a dancing performance on a terrace with his favourite womenfolk, nine of whom sit alongside him. They are sharing several hookahs. Piles of sweetmeats are placed in front of them while attendants behind them bring more. Across the terrace a young woman performs a solo dance to the accompaniment of female voices and male musicians. In the foreground other members of the navab's entourage enjoy the performance. Two yoginis or female ascetics stand out with their darker skin and pink and green garments. Otherwise everything is coloured red and yellow from the powders (called abira) and liquids that they have all been hurling at each other in the riotous spring festival of Holi. Even the fountains and the lakes have turned red. In the fairytale world of Avadhi painting, all men are young and handsome and all girls young and beautiful. There is little room for the old or not quite so beautiful, so the old duenna beside the women and a grey-haired musician opposite
A nobleman celebrating the festival of Holi
A magnificent 18th century painting in the current exhibition Mughal India: Art, Culture and Empire depicts the celebration of the spring festival of Holi. This Hindu festival typically falls during the month of March and symbolizes fertility and spring harvests. This year, the Holi festival falls on March 27th.
A young nobleman enjoying Holi with his consort
Attributed to the artist Nidhamal, Lucknow, 1760-5
British Library, Add.Or.5700
The Emperor Akbar, one of the greatest rulers of the subcontinent (ruled from 1556-1605) advocated religious tolerance. The peace and well-being of the empire depended on maintaining a balance between the interests of the Hindu majority and those of the Muslim, Christian, Zoroastrian, Jain, Sikh and other religions. One of Akbar's greatest political accomplishments was to abolish the poll tax levied on non-Muslims. He also won over the rulers of the Hindu Rajput kingdoms by marrying their daughters into his family. Akbar himself married Princess Manmati; she was the daughter of Raja Bhagwandas of Amber (today Jaipur).
Study of Akbar's head
Attributed to Govardhan, 1600-5
British Library, Add.Or.1039
Akbar and Manmanti's son Jahangir wrote in his memoirs about this religious festival:
Their day is Holi, which in their belief is the last day of the year. This day falls in the month of Isfandarmudh, when the sun is in Pisces. On the eve of this day they light fires in all the lanes and streets. When it is daylight they spray powder on each other's heads and faces for one watch and create an amazing uproar. After that, they wash themselves, put their clothes on, and go to gardens and fields. Since it is an established custom of among the Hindus to burn their dead, the lighting of fires on the last night of the year s a metaphor for burning the old year as though it were a corpse.' - from the Jahangirnama
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- The Guardian, Friday 27 April 2012 22.55 BST
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At the peak of their power in the mid-17th century, the great Mughals were the richest and most powerful Islamic dynasty. They ruled over 100 million subjects - five times the number commanded by their only rivals, the Ottomans. From the ramparts of the Delhi Red Fort, the seat of power, Shah Jahan - the emperor who commissioned the Taj Mahal - controlled almost all of India, the whole of what is now Pakistan and Bangladesh, as well as much of Afghanistan. The Mughals held the latter, then known as Khorasan, more successfully than any other invader, before or since.
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