Health | Updated Mar 20, 2008 at 12:03am IST

Flower power: Kolkata engineers play herbal Holi

Sukarno Sen, CNN-IBN

Kolkata: Plucking marigold petals is not what mechanical engineering students of Jadavpur University in Bengal usually do. But in the run up to this Holi, that's precisely what they're doing, as part of an effort to manufacture and popularise the use of herbal gulal.

“The traditional colours available in the market are made of harmful synthetic components. They can cause skin diseases, blindness, asthmatic tendencies and even damage kidneys,” Technical Superintendent, Engineering Division of Jadavpur University, Asim Chatterjee explained.

The idea is to recycle flower waste from pujas and transform them into scented gulal, candles and even skin cream. And these herbal colours have already found a place inside the campus.

“We have played Holi inside our campus with these colours which are easily removable. After the classes when we go home no one can understand that we played Holi and enjoyed it so much,” a student at Jadavpur University, Ipshita Bhattacharya said.

The University is now seeking the help of West Bengal legislators to popularise the product in the rest of the state.

(For updates you can share with your friends, follow IBNLive on Facebook, Twitter, Google+ and Pinterest)

Comments (1)

All comments will be published after moderation

Trending Searches

#Viswanathan Anand #Rafael Nadal #Aurobindo Pharma #Mahesh Bhupathi #Aamir Khan #Air India #Multiple sclerosis #Narendra Modi #Aung San Suu Kyi #Serena Williams #Narendra Modi #Jagan #Bharat Bandh #Nitin Gadkari #VK Singh #Naveen Patnaik #Petrol price #Andhra Pradesh #Goa