About Rang Panchami
Rang Panchami is the second colour day of the Holi season, kept five days after Holi on the fifth lunar day of the waning moon, and in 2027 it falls on Saturday, 27 March 2027. It is biggest in Madhya Pradesh and Maharashtra, where Indore's Ger procession sprays colour over the old city around Rajwada and Nashik fills its old stone rahad tanks with coloured water.
For most of north India, Holi ends when the colour is washed off on the morning after Holika Dahan. In Malwa, Nimar and much of Maharashtra it pauses instead. Five days later, on Rang Panchami, the streets fill up again, often with more colour than on Holi itself.
Why the fifth day, and which month
Holi falls on the full moon of Phalguna. Rang Panchami is the fifth lunar day, Panchami, of the dark fortnight that follows. What that fortnight is called depends on your calendar, which is why you will see two month names for the same day.
In the purnimanta calendar used across north and central India, a month ends on the full moon, so the fortnight after Holi already belongs to Chaitra and the day is Chaitra Krishna Panchami. In the amanta calendar used in Maharashtra, a month ends on the new moon, so the same fortnight is still Phalguna and the day is Phalgun Krishna Panchami. The day itself is the same. Panchangs place it on the date when Panchami is running at sunrise, which is why it is sometimes four days after the colour day of Holi and sometimes five.
The Holi of the gods
The devotional idea behind Rang Panchami is that the gods come down to play on this day, so many people call it the Holi of the gods. Families who keep that belief throw abir and gulal up into the air rather than only at each other, as an offering to the deities, and some set up Radha and Krishna on a low stool at home and place gulal at their feet before going out. The story most often told for the day is the colour play of Radha and Krishna, as it is for Holi.
That is also why the colour on Rang Panchami goes so high. The tankers and pumps in Indore are a modern way of doing an old thing: getting colour into the sky.
Indore's Ger
The Ger, also spelt Gair and also called the Faag Yatra, is the procession that has made Rang Panchami famous outside Madhya Pradesh. It winds through the old city around Rajwada, the former Holkar palace, for about three kilometres. Trucks carry gulal, flowers and water tankers, and motor pumps throw coloured water up over the crowd and onto the balconies along the route. Anyone standing on a terrace is part of it whether they planned to be or not.
Its age depends on who you ask. All India Radio described the Ger in 2025 as about 200 years old and tied to the Holkar rulers. The historian Zafar Ansari, speaking to the Free Press Journal in 2026, separated the two. Under the Holkars, Indore's Holi ran for about 15 days around Rajwada, with court music, wrestling bouts and public play. The Ger as a street procession, he said, began after Independence from Tori Corner in Malharganj with two bullock carts of colour, and grew because mill workers joined it after their shifts. Both accounts agree on the Holkar root.
The procession has become large enough that the state's Chief Minister took part in it in 2025, and the city's cleaning crews now aim to clear the route around Rajwada within an hour of it ending.
Elsewhere: Nashik, Pune and the Konkan
Nashik keeps a tradition that goes back to the Peshwa period: the rahad, a stone tank set into the ground in the old city and around Panchavati. Each year the rahads are dug out, filled with water and natural colour, and become the centre of the day's play. Pune and Mumbai mark Rang Panchami with dhol-tasha groups, street colour and puran poli at home, with gujiya and thandai doing the rounds as they did on Holi. In Maharashtra the Holi season is also known as Shimga.
| Place | What happens | Worth knowing |
|---|---|---|
| Indore | The Ger through the old city around Rajwada, with tankers and pumps | The biggest public Rang Panchami in India; balconies on the route get soaked |
| Nashik | Play around the Peshwa-era rahad tanks in the old city and Panchavati | The tanks are dug out and refilled with natural colour each year |
| Pune and Mumbai | Dhol-tasha, street colour, puran poli at home | The local amanta calendar calls the day Phalgun Krishna Panchami |
| North India | Usually quiet; Holi is over | Sheetala Ashtami follows three days later, with food cooked the day before |
What to write
A Rang Panchami wish has a narrow audience: people for whom the day is real. Name the Ger, the rahad or the puran poli, and keep it playful. If your friend keeps the devotional side, one line about colour offered to the gods goes a long way.
Happy Rang Panchami. Save me a spot near Rajwada, and put your phone in a plastic bag this time. The tankers do not care.
Happy Rang Panchami, Aai and Baba. Five days since Holi and I am still finding gulal behind my ears. Keep some puran poli for me.
Wishing you a happy Rang Panchami. I hope the Ger is kind to your white shirt and the commute back is short.
No Ger where you are this year, so here is a pinch of gulal by message. Happy Rang Panchami, and come home for the next one.
Happy Rang Panchami. May the rahad be full, the colour natural and the water not too cold.
Rang Panchami wishes to you. May the colour you offer to Radha and Krishna today come back to the house as peace.
Rangpanchamichya hardik shubhechha. (Warm wishes on Rang Panchami.)
Do
- Ask before you colour someone, as you would on Holi. Many people play only on one of the two days.
- Use dry gulal or natural colours; the Nashik rahads are filled with natural colour for a reason.
- If you live on the Ger route, cover windows, cars and anything on the balcony the night before.
Avoid
- Don't assume a family in mourning will play. Many households that skipped Holi after a death skip Rang Panchami too.
- Don't send a Rang Panchami wish to someone who does not keep it as if it were Holi itself. "Hope you had a good Holi" fits them better.
How to wish someone on Rang Panchami
A Rang Panchami wish usually goes to someone in Indore, Malwa, Nashik, Pune or a Marathi or Malwi family elsewhere, for whom Holi is not over yet. Name the Ger or the rahad if they will be out in it, joke about the gulal still in their hair from Holi, and keep a line for the devotional side, since many treat it as the day colour is offered to the gods. For anyone outside these regions, a light \"Holi, part two\" note is enough.
Write a few lines in your own words, pick a design and share it as one link on WhatsApp, Instagram or anywhere else. They open an animated card made just for them, with no app and no sign-up.
Language tip: English, Hindi + Marathi.
When is Rang Panchami in each year?
Rang Panchami is set by the Hindu lunisolar calendar, so it falls on a different date each year. In 2027 it falls 19 days later than in 2026.
- 2026
- 2027
- 2028
Frequently asked questions
When is Rang Panchami in 2027?
Rang Panchami 2027 falls on Saturday, 27 March 2027.
Why is Rang Panchami celebrated five days after Holi?
Rang Panchami falls on Panchami, the fifth lunar day of the waning fortnight that begins after the Holi full moon. In Madhya Pradesh and Maharashtra it is treated as the second and final colour day of the Holi season, and many believe the gods themselves play with colour on it.
Is Rang Panchami in Phalguna or Chaitra?
Both names are correct for the same day. North and central Indian calendars end the month on the full moon, so they call it Chaitra Krishna Panchami, while Maharashtra's calendar ends the month on the new moon and calls it Phalgun Krishna Panchami.
What is the Ger in Indore?
The Ger, or Gair, is Indore's Rang Panchami procession through the old city around Rajwada, in which trucks with tankers and pumps spray coloured water over the crowds and balconies. Its roots are in the Holkar court's Holi, and the street procession in its present form grew after Independence from Tori Corner in Malharganj.
How is Rang Panchami different from Holi?
Holi is played across India the morning after the Holika Dahan bonfire, while Rang Panchami comes five days later and is strongest in Madhya Pradesh and Maharashtra. Rang Panchami has no bonfire, and its colour is often thrown into the air as an offering to the gods.
What food is made on Rang Panchami?
In Maharashtra the main dish is puran poli, a flatbread stuffed with sweetened lentils, with gujiya and thandai often carried over from Holi.
Last verified by the Kehdoo team on .