DYK About Gulaal Gota, 400-Year-Old Royal Holi Ritual Of Jaipur Is Now Going Viral Across The Internet

Holi 2026 will be celebrated on March 4. Holi Dahan will take place a day prior and will mark the festival of colours. Playing with colours is integral to Holi celebrations. Kids fill balloons with coloured water and throw them during the festivities across the country. However, in some parts of Rajasthan’s Jaipur, people continue a centuries-old custom. Instead of using balloons, they throw colours using a special method known as the “Gulaal Gota”, a ritual that began nearly 300 to 400 years ago by royals.

What is a Gulaal Gota?

Gulaal Gota is a small, fragile and eco-friendly ball made from lac and filled with dry herbal gulaal. It weighs about 20 grams when filled. During Holi, people throw these balls at each other, and they burst into pieces as soon as they hit someone, sending colours beautifully wafting in the air.

Lac is a natural resin that certain insects produce. The female scale insect is one of the main sources of lac. To make 1 kilogram of lac resin, people kill nearly 300,000 insects. Lac insects also produce resin, lac dye and lac wax. Manufacturers use lac in many products, including lac bangles.

How are Gulaal Gota made?

To make Gulaal Gotas, artisans boil lac in water until it becomes soft and flexible. They then shape it, mix in colour, heat it again, and blow it into a round shape using a blower called “phunkni”.

They source lac, the main raw material for Gulaal Gota, from Chhattisgarh and Jharkhand. In Jaipur, Muslim lac artisans known as Manihaars craft Gulaal Gotas. They learned this traditional lac-making skill from Hindu lac makers in Bagru, a town near Jaipur.

History

As per reports, founded in 1727 by Sawai Jai Singh II, Jaipur is famous for its rich culture and traditions. The city has dedicated a lane in Tripoliya Bazaar to the Manihaar community. People call it "Manihaaron ka Raasta", and it still serves as a busy market for lac bangles, jewellery, and Gulaal Gota, keeping the city’s artistic heritage alive.

The royal family first introduced these coloured balls. In earlier times, kings rode through the city on elephants during Holi and threw Gulaal Gotas at the public. The former royal family also ordered Gulaal Gota for the festival at their palace.

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