Festival of Colors & Krishna Seated by a Riverbank
Festival of Colors, written by Surishtha Sehgal and Kabir Sehgal and illustrated by Vashti Harrison and Folio from a Gita Govinda series: Krishna Seated by a Riverbank, c. 1780, opaque watercolor on paper, Norton Simon Art Foundation, from the Estate of Jennifer Jones Simon
Featured Book: Festival of Colors, written by Surishtha Sehgal and Kabir Sehgal and illustrated by Vashti Harrison
Featured Artwork: Folio from a Gita Govinda series: Krishna Seated by a Riverbank (c. 1780)
In Festival of Colors, written by Surishtha Sehgal and Kabir Sehgal and illustrated by Vashti Harrison, siblings Mintoo and Chintoo prepare for Holi, the Hindu festival of colors that marks the end of winter and the arrival of spring. They gather flowers, dry them and grind them into fine colorful powders. On Holi, they toss the powders to cover their friends, family and neighbors.
Holi is associated with the Hindu god Krishna’s love for Radha and his attempt to color her skin to match his own. Folio from a Gita Govinda series: Krishna Seated by a Riverbank illustrates a scene from the Gita Govinda, a poem about their love. Here, we see a tender moment as Krishna sits in contemplation in a lush river landscape.
Inspired by Festival of Colors and Krishna Seated by a Riverbank, make a colorful artwork celebrating the end of winter and the start of spring.
If you don’t have access to the featured book, select something similar from your child’s book shelf or your local library. Many of the books are also available as read-aloud videos online.