“Jab Phagun rang jhamakte hon tab dekh baharein Holi ki/ aur daf ke shor khadakte hon tab dekh baharein Holi ki,” wrote 18th-century poet Nazeer Akbarabadi. Loosely translated, it means, “when Phagun [a month in the Hindu lunar calendar] are shining, behold the spring of Holi/and when the drums resonate, behold the spring of Holi”.
For generations, the festiva...