Girls play Holi on Utkal University campus on Saturday. Picture by Sanjib Mukherjee

Bhubaneswar/Balasore, March 15: Revellers across the state are banking on herbal and organic colours this year to enjoy Holi with no worries for skin damage or any other allergies.

Non-toxic colours and powders of various shades made of natural ingredients are available in plenty in various districts.

In Bhubaneswar, malls as well as roadside kiosks are selling “non-toxic” colours.

Though priced slightly on the higher side, these colours, when smeared on others or sprayed after blending with water, do not harm the skin. The 100gm packets are priced at about Rs 90.

The herbal colours filled the air at the Blind School playground at Satyanagar, where a social organisation is hosting a Holi celebration for blind children and guest celebrities.

“Since the past two years, we have been celebrating Holi in a very different, safe and hygienic way called ‘Herbal Holi’. We use all domestic products such as turmeric, multani mud, leaves of neem, paste of tomato as colours,” said Swapna Pati, an organiser.

Home-maker Kusum Mishra of Balasore town has been preparing organic colours for the past 10 years. Not only do the colours have a great demand in the town, but they are also send across the state during Holi.

The colours — violet, purple, pink, indigo, coffee, lemon yellow, parrot green and a few others — are made from plant seeds and leaves.

While the common ingredient is arrowroot, Mishra uses seeds and Bhringaraj for violet, leaves of Gulmohar or Babool for green. The indigo colour is made from Aparajita flowers and indigo plant, she said.In Berhampur, too, the demand for harmless colours has increased over the years, said a city trader.

A shop owner at Bada Bazaar said: “The public is now asking for harmless colours during Holi. We are just fulfilling their demands.”