Using Moduga flowers in Holi becoming extinct

Warangal: The conventional way of playing Holi by using natural colour extracted from flower called 'Flame of the Forest' also called 'Butea Frondosa' or 'Moduga' flowers in Telugu is fast disappearing. The flowers that would be in full bloom throughout the plains, hillocks and roadsides with summer setting in and provide a visual treat to the public are a key ingredient in the Holi celebration of Lambada community. The flower has also been called as 'Dhagdaro phul' by the Lambadas and their bright coloured petals in reds and oranges have been used by tribals for preparing natural Holi colours to play with during the festival. When soaked overnight in water, the Moduga petals give out a bright yellow colour, which was then used for playing Holi. The colour obtained from Moduga is known to be of fleeting nature, disappearing after a single wash, which made it popular among tribal communities in the past but the trend was changing now. According a tribal leader and a professor in Botany at Kakatiya University A Sitaram Naik, the Lambada community's Holi celebration with Moduga flowers has been a tradition since the period of Rajput kings including Rana Pratap Singh and Prithviraj Chauhan. However, the present generation has been forgetting their tradition by choosing harmful chemical colours containing carcinogenic agents to play Holi with and then suffering from skin problems, he rued. "There are numerous Moduga trees that can be spotted growing inside the Kakatiya University campus apart from places like Mamnoor, Thorur, Maripeda, Bachanapet, Jangaon and hundreds growing in the wild", he noted adding 'They need to be protected from being cutting down'. The leaves used to cure pimples, the bark has been used as a natural insecticide against houseflies and dried 'Moduga' flowers for preventing sunstrokes, according to Prof. Naik.