In these troubled times, the world perhaps needs a bit of cheer, and what better than the bright, sparkling colors of Holi, the festival of Spring, to renew our optimism, hopes and joy.

Here are some images of this colorful festival, being played with zest across India.

Flickr photo by Prem Anandh, used under CC BY-NC-SA 2.0

Flickr photo by Anand Nav used by CC BY-SA 2.0

Flickr photo by Komail.Naqvi, used under CC BY  NC-ND-2.0

Flickr photo by pixelfrenzy, used under CC BY-NC-SA 2.0