Gulal Gota, in the shape of ball, is made using lac and is
filled with eco-friendly Arrorate Gulal. This is used to play with colors
during Holi festival celebrations especially in Jaipur, Rajasthan. The lac art
is an ancient tradition and its roots are traced to the Mahabharata – the
famous lac palace created by Kauravas for Pandavas. In another instance
Draupadi calls Duryodhana a blind as he could not differentiate between real
fruit and lac-made resembling artifacts.
The gulal gota for holi festival is made of kusum lac, a
high-quality resin product obtained from a tree, which is molded in various
shapes mostly small rounded bowls. These bowls are filled with the arrarote
gulal, also a eco-friendly colour powder obtained from herbal product and
sealed to the perfection. The lac-made gulal gota is very tender and bursts
when it is thrown.
Gulal Gota is exclusively made by the Maniyar artisan. They
were brought to Jaipur in Rajasthan by Maharaja Jai Singh and were settled in
Maniyaro Ka Rasta, Jaipur. These families have been making lac bangles for
queens and gulal gota on Holi for the royal family of Jaipur.
The gulal gota were in the beginning used by the Maharajas
during the Holi procession during their times.
But now with eco-friendly Holi catching up many Indians,
especially NRIs, are opting for gulal gota.