UNMUKT UDAAN

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To reclaim the true essence of festivals by blending environmental action, education, and cultural roots—ensuring that our festivals such as Holi and Diwali are not just celebrated, but understood, lived, and honored responsibly.

May 1st, 2017

• Be a Team Leader, if you are living in an area where education is not accessible to underserved children and you wish to support their education. 
• Volunteer with us to create drawing instructions, or interactive games for children.

To fix a call with us to know more about the program whatsapp us at +91 93487 31510. 

or/and

To help this project sustain.

Picture this:You are a child, eagerly waiting for Holi—a festival of color, joy, and togetherness. The streets are alive with laughter, hands reaching for bursts of red, yellow, and green. But as the day unfolds, something shifts.

Your skin starts to itch, your eyes sting, and the color won’t wash away. The water that once carried laughter now carries foamy streaks of chemicals, seeping into the soil, flowing into rivers, poisoning the very earth we celebrate. Plastic wrappers pile up in corners, discarded and forgotten. Somewhere, a dry well stands untouched—wasted water lost in the name of festivity.

A festival that once meant spring, renewal, and harmony with nature now leaves behind pollution, waste, and harm.

This is not just a loss of tradition—it is a loss of innocence, of responsibility, of the deep-rooted bond we once shared with the land.

Holi was never meant to leave scars on the skin or wounds on the earth. It was once a festival where colors came from flowers, where every shade carried the scent of spring, where water was precious, not wasted. Today, we celebrate it, but have we truly understood its spirit?

Unmukt Udaan exists to bring it back—to restore the meaning of our traditions, make them sustainable, and ensure that culture, environment, and education are not separate but one.

Let’s look at one of such critical story: 

Ravi (name changed), a 12-year-old boy from Bhubaneswar, loved Holi. Every year, he and his friends would buy the brightest colors available in the market. But after every celebration, he noticed that his skin would turn red and itchy, and his mother would struggle to wash off the color from his clothes and face.

One year, after playing, Ravi saw the water from their Holi buckets draining into a nearby pond—its surface covered in a layer of artificial dyes and foam. He wondered, "Is this what we are throwing at each other?"

When he joined Unmukt Udaan’s natural Holi color-making workshop, he discovered that Holi was never meant to harm—it was once celebrated with petals, leaves, and herbs that nourished the skin and the earth. That year, Ravi and his friends made their own natural colors and celebrated Holi differently—with care, awareness, and joy.

Then came Diwali. His younger sister was afraid of the loud firecrackers, and he noticed his grandfather coughing from the thick smoke. This time, he decided to change the way his family celebrated. He and his sister painted diyas together, choosing handmade clay lamps over electric lights, and they celebrated a festival of true light, not fire and smoke.

Because once you understand that your joy should not come at the cost of nature’s suffering, it is impossible to go back.

According to a Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) report, synthetic Holi colors contain toxic metals like lead, mercury, and chromium, leading to skin diseases, eye infections, and environmental toxicity. Over 50,000 tons of firecracker waste are generated during Diwali, causing a 30–40% increase in air pollution overnight.

Unmukt Udaan exists to bridge this gap—reviving traditional wisdom while making Holi and Diwali safe, joyful, and meaningful again.

Unmukt Udaan is a first-of-its-kind initiative in India that uses local festivals as a powerful medium to teach children about culture, creativity, environment, and leadership.

Through hands-on workshops—like making natural Holi colors, painting diyas for Diwali, and using art for team building and well-being—children reconnect with their roots while learning to celebrate in ways that are joyful, meaningful, and sustainable.

These sessions are not just about festivals—they're about helping children understand why we celebrate, and how we can do so with care for our environment and pride in our traditions.

So far, the program has reached over 1,000 children from Class 6 to 12, turning every celebration into a classroom where learning feels like joy, and culture comes alive through action.

Alongside workshops, we host vibrant, community-driven events that celebrate children’s creativity:

Corporate Engagements: Storytelling and sustainability workshops with professionals.

Unmukt Utsav: Our annual function that celebrates the journey and creations of the children.

Unmukt Mela: A once-a-year event within communities to showcase children’s work.

Art Exhibition: An annual display of artworks inspired by culture, environment, and self-expression.

Wherever there is a festival to be reimagined, a tradition to be revived, and a child eager to learn, Unmukt Udaan will be there. 

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Segment of the population it will serve

Children from Class 6 to 12, ensuring cultural education and environmental action continues beyond early childhood.

Program Duration

An ongoing initiative, conducted year-round through seasonal and festival-based workshops.

Focus Areas

Unmukt Udaan focuses on:

1. Cultural Revival, ensuring traditional knowledge is passed on meaningfully.
2. Environmental Responsibility, promoting sustainable festival practices.
3. Creativity & Expression, where children use art to interpret and celebrate their heritage.

Through Unmukt Abeer, over 1,200 children across schools, communities, and corporate spaces have created natural Holi colours using turmeric, beetroot, and flower petals—reconnecting with tradition and the Earth.

The workshops offered a hands-on, joyful alternative to chemical-laden celebrations, blending sustainability with cultural learning. The initiative received enthusiastic support from the Collector of Khordha, Chanchal Rana, affirming its value in reviving eco-conscious, rooted celebrations.

At Unmukt Udaan, we don’t just celebrate festivals. We restore them.
To the soil.
To our stories.
To the small hands that will carry them forward.

Join us. Let’s bring joy back—gently, colorfully, meaningfully and sustainably.