Holi 2026: Dehradun's Darshani Gate Crafts Special Gulal by Hand, Not Machine

• In Dehradun, Darshani Gate near Jhanda Bazaar is renowned for traditional, handcrafted Holi colors.
• Baijnath and his family, originally from Uttar Pradesh, prepare chemical-free gulal using arrowroot and food colors.
• Pawan Jaiswal, continuing a 30-year family tradition, emphasizes making natural gulal for skin and eye safety.
• The gulal is meticulously filtered through cloth, a labor-intensive process ensuring purity and fine texture, taking 2 hours per sack.
• Baijnath, who learned the technique in Banaras, has been bringing this tradition to Dehradun since 1968, with their colors now reaching major cities like Delhi, Mumbai, and Kolkata.