Overview
Holi, the festival of colours, nowadays celebrated all around the world, but the biggest and most colourful gathering takes place in Mathura and Vrindavan of Uttar Pradesh, India. This is the only destination where you can witnesses an extraordinary vibrancy of culture & colours during this festive season.
Holi is mostly celebrated in the Braj region (also known as Lord Krishna’s kingdom), especially in locations associated with Lord Krishna and Radha especially at Barsana, Nandgaon and Vrindavan. Barsana was the birth place of Radha, whereas, Nandgaon was where Lord Krishna spent his childhood peroid. Both of them are said to be in love with each other. It is believed that Lord Krishna being dark in complexion and Radha being fair, he would apply colour on her face to look similar. One day Lord Krishna was eavesdropping on Radha and her group of friends and was teasing them; the women of Barsana took offence and chased Lord Krishna and his friends away by running after them with lathis and thus began the ritual of Lathmar Holi that the people of Barsana and Nandgaon celebrate every year with immense fun. During this festival, various events like “Laddu Holi” in Barsana; “Lathmar Holi” in Barsana, “Samaj” in Nandagaon , “Vrindavan Holi” and may other events are celebrated throughout for ten days in various locations of Braj. It’s an atmosphere of pomp, gaiety and carnival.
Travel Photography is all about getting the real essence of the place i.e. knowing local culture, interacting with local people, watching their celebrations, experience their way of life. During our holi photography workshop we will focus to capture the spirit of this colourful event and moods of local people. We will develop frames and help you to build stories that will assist you to work on photo your projects. We will also explore the streets and ghats (river bank) of river Yamuna and will help you in selecting and editing of photographs.
Itinerary
Tour Dates: 2nd week of March, 2017 ( if you are interested for this workshop, please contact us, we will give you the exact dates).
Day 0: Arrival of participants in our pre-booked hotel at Vrindavan (details will be given when you book your seat). Workshop briefing will be done and introduction of participants. Various safety measures methods will also be discussed for the camera and photographers during the tour.
Day 1: We will start around 8am for Barsana to cover “Ladoo Holi”. This ritual generally takes place a day before the actual Lathmar Holi. Legend has it that Krishna’s godfather, Nand would distribute sweets on the anvil of the harvesting season and thus, would begin the celebrations with much dynamism in both the villages. Only dry colours are used to celebrate “Ladoo Holi”. We will stay overnight at our hotel in Vrindavan.
Day 2: Today again we have to start early for Barsana to experience riot of colours at Lathmar Holi. The event takes place in the beautiful campus of the Radha-Rani temple of Barsana. Here, men from Nandgaon, the land of Krishna come to play Holi with the women of Barsana and hope of raising their flag over temple complex. But, instead of colours they are greeted with sticks by the gopis (maidens). We will stay overnight at hotel in Vrindavan.
Day 3:Today we will visit Sirji Temple of Nandagaon for Samaj Celebration. Today the men of Nandgaon reciprocate and drench everybody specially the women-folk in colours of kesudo, naturally occurring orange-red dye and palash and the women of Nandgoan beat the invaders from Barsana. Our overnight stay will be at Vrindavan hotel.
Day 4:Today early morning we will explore the Yamuna ghat and streets of Vrindavan. Afternoon we will have an interaction and photo review session with our participants. Evening we will shoot the evening aarti at Yamuna ghat. Our tour ends by a farewell dinner.
Frequently asked Questions (FAQ)
Am I eligible for this tour?
Anyone above 18 years (unless accompanied by a parent or guardian/or with parent’s consent) is welcome to join this photo tour.
I am new in photography. Will I join this trip?
Yes off course. This tour is for all photography enthusiastic people. The more you travel and explore, your photographic eye will open. To polish your photographic skills you should join us. Moreover, our Team leaders will ensure to give special attention to the beginners.
What photographic equipments are required for this Trip?
Well, even point and shoot camera will work fine. If you have DSLR camera, any zoom lens and a wide angle lens will work best. Laptop with post processing software, external hard drive, and extra memory cards will be helpful.
What is the difference between Fotorbit’s Photo Tour and other tours?
We are not offering a package tour for general tourists; it is specifically meant for photography enthusiastic people and designed by experienced professional photographers. You will discover the place and learn a lot about the most colourful event of India, local people and their culture which is important part of our travel photography. We will help you to capture those right moments using better compositions and techniques. Our Team Leaders will help our guests to learn camera settings, framing and as well as post processing. If that’s what you are looking for then surely join us in this exciting Vrindavan photo tour with Fotorbit.
What we can expect from Fotorbit Team Leaders?
Our team leaders will help our participants to guide with camera techniques, on field assistance, composition of a frame, use of camera and lens in most effective way. There will be post shoot critique session with ours team leaders and sharing with knowledge and experiences. We will also give guidance on post-processing to enhance the quality of your photographs. Fotorbit is committed to give its guests personal attention.
Cost:
The total cost for this 4 days tour for Indian Nationals is Rs. 9,500/- and for foreigners 250 US$ per person for a double / shared room of same sex. To book your place, you are required to pay the entire tour fee in advance.
FEE INCLUDES
- Accommodating on twin sharing basis (persons of same sex) on a standard hotel
- It will cover all vegetarian meals, starting from Day 0 dinner to Day 4 dinner
- All local transports related with our photo tour i.e.hiring cars for 3 days from Vrindavan to Barsana and Nandgaon.
- Workshop fee, on field assistances ,image reviews and guidance on post processing
FEE DOESN’T INCLUDES
- Train/flight tickets to and fro Mathura
- Pick up and drop from Mathura station to Vrindavan hotel
- Any additional food items or beverage during meals.
CANCELLATION AND REFUND POLICY
If you cancel your registration, then you will be refunded according to the following schedule, based on the full fee of the Workshop:
- Greater than 60 days from the start date of the Workshop: 90% refund
- 45 days or more: 75% refund
- 30 days or more: 50% refund
- Less than 30 days: 25% refund
REGISTER NOW! Holi workshop is limited for 10 persons, so that we can give personal attention to our participants. After you register, we will send you an email regarding the booking and payment options. For more details and queries, contact us at fotorbit@mail.com.
- Single room supplementoption available. Ask for details.
- Post-tour extensionoption is available(condition applied). If you are interested, ask for details.
NOTE: Special discount for our previous Photo Tour participants.
Under any unavoidable circumstances, if we have to cancel our photo tour, your entire booking money will be refunded.
