Phagu Purnima, commonly known as Holi, the festival of colours, began with the installation of ‘Chir’, a bamboo pole fringed with colourful strips of cloth, in Basantapur, Kathmandu, on Monday.

According to cultural experts, people used to celebrate Holi for eight days, from the day of the installation of ‘Chir’ to the full moon day as per the lunar calendar, in the past, but nowadays, the festival is only celebrated on the full moon day.

Here are some photos of the ‘Chir’ installation by the Post photographer Elite Joshi.