Jaipur’s Royal Gulal Gota Colour Balls: Tradition & Craft

March 1, 2026

This Holi, Jaipur’s centuries-old custom of playing with gulal gota traditional colour balls made of natural lac and filled with dry coloured powder is drawing renewed attention across India and abroad. The practice has emerged as a distinctive, eco-friendly way to celebrate the festival of colours, especially favoured for its cultural charm and historical links to Rajasthan’s royal heritage.

Different from the usual loose gulal or water balloons, gulal gota is a small, delicate lac shell that breaks on impact and bursts with a gentle splash of colour, adding a playful yet refined touch to Holi festivities.

What Is Gulal Gota and Its History

Gulal gota is essentially a fragile, hand-crafted lac sphere filled with dry herbal gulal. Traditionally weighing about 20–40 grams each, these colour balls were historically used in royal Holi celebrations during the era of the Jaipur monarchy where kings and courtiers would toss them from palaces into the streets, creating colourful spectacles during the festival.

The craft dates back 300 to 400 years and has been preserved by the Manihaar community of artisans in Maniharon Ka Rasta in Jaipur. These skilled workers inherited the art from earlier lac workers and continue to make gulal gota using traditional lac-shaping techniques.

How Gulal Gota Is Crafted

The production of gulal gota involves several labor-intensive steps: artisans first boil raw lac resin in water to make it pliable and workable. The softened lac is then kneaded, shaped into tiny hollow balls, and heated again and blown into shape using a small blower called a “phunkni”. Once the shell is formed and coloured, it is filled with dry herbal gulal powder and sealed.

This meticulous process makes gulal gota an artisanal product that blends craftsmanship with festive function, and it is appreciated for being eco-friendlier and more controlled than water balloons or loose powder.

Revival and Rising Popularity

After years of being known mainly within Rajasthan, gulal gota has recently garnered nationwide and international interest, largely due to social media reels and online coverage. This exposure has led to growing demand from cities such as Delhi, Mumbai and Hyderabad, and even from overseas customers in countries including Australia, the United States, Singapore and the UK.

Local artisans report that orders for Holi have multiplied nearly tenfold compared to past years, with many families preparing thousands of boxes of gulal gota for the festive season. The renewed interest has also attracted younger generations back to the craft, ensuring its continuity and economic support for traditional makers.

A Cultural Symbol of Holi

While traditional Holi celebrations across India feature vibrant powdered colours and water play, Jaipur’s gulal gota adds a royal, heritage-rich layer to the festivities. Its deliberate, colourful bursts reflect not just the joy of Holi but also Rajasthan’s long legacy of artistic celebration.