Its meaning
Ranga Panchami is described as the day the gods themselves play with colours. The colours thrown into the air are said to invoke the five elements and to drive away the restless (rajasic and tamasic) qualities stirred up in the season, leaving a sattvic, peaceful atmosphere. In this sense, while Holi is played among people, Ranga Panchami is an offering of colours to the deities.
How it is celebrated
In Indore and other cities of Madhya Pradesh huge processions called Gair move through the streets, with coloured water sprayed from tankers and bands playing. In Maharashtra people play with colours, and fishing communities on the coast dance and feast. In temples of Krishna colours are offered to the deity, and in some villages the day is marked with music, folk dance and a common meal.
Where Holi itself is played only with dry colour, Ranga Panchami is the day for coloured water, and in some families it is the main day of play.
Like Holi it is a day for visiting friends, settling differences and sharing sweets, and it marks the last of the winter festivities before the summer and the new year in Chaitra.
Ranga Panchami in Indore
Indore's Ranga Panchami Gair is the best known: a procession that began under the Holkar rulers, in which tankers and cannons spray coloured water and gulal over crowds of tens of thousands on the old city's streets. It has been proposed for recognition as an intangible cultural heritage.