Holi is a Hindu festival that celebrates the end of winter and the arrival of spring with a festival of colours.
The festival starts on the full moon day, which is March 1 this year, and lasts for a night and day.
The Hindu tradition is predominately observed in India and South Asia with America and Europe embracing the colourful festival in recent years.
Students of Rabindra Bharati University have kicked off the festival inside their university campus in Kolkata.
Thousands of widows from Vrindavan and Varanasi have marked the Hindu spring festival of colours at a temple to break the hundred-year-old taboo that prevented them from celebrating the Holi festival.
Originally, natural ingredients such as tumeric, neem and sandalwood formed the colours for the festival however, bright synthetic colours are now sold in their place.
Look through this gallery to see stunning images of Holi celebrations taking place across India.
Vibrant colours are thrown into the air as people celebrate the victory of good over evil, the end of winter.
