On Friday, April 27, DUPB and South Asian Student Association (SASA) co-sponsored the celebration of Holi, a Hindu festival marking the arrival of spring and the rejoice of love, color and the triumph of good against evil. Hundreds of people, from DU students to children of DU faculty, attended Carnegie Green on the 75 degree day to experience this Indian holiday.
The first Holi celebration can be dated back through poetry to as early as the fourth century and is now considered an ancient tradition. Though it is celebrated among Hindus, Holi is a fairly secular holiday, encouraging the participation of all races, religions and backgrounds. Its main purpose is to be unified with friends, family and the community regardless of those divisive differences.
The event that DUPB and SASA co-sponsored did the holiday justice. The first hour was dedicated to feeding the guests. Taj Palace Food Truck catered, offering two authentic Indian meal options to the first 300 people who arrived. The music playlist, created by SASA members, included popular Bollywood songs to provide a more authentic, cultural experience holistically.
After an hour, SASA co-presidents Sabrina Jain and Sunny Khatter kicked off the celebration of Holi by announcing “Holi Hai!” queueing everyone to throw the colorful powder up in the air or at others at the same time. The air on Carnegie Green became opaque with various colors of blue, red, pink and yellow, as though a vibrant cloud had engulfed the area.
Several participants had water guns and hoses, spraying others with water amidst all the color. In some cases, people would throw their friends into the small pools of water that SASA had spread throughout the green. The laughter of all the participants throughout Carnegie Green could be heard from across campus.
“I really enjoyed participating in Holi! It was incredibly happy and fun. I enjoyed throwing color on not only my friends but people I didn’t know,” DU senior Taylor Blagg explained.
Within the hour, the colorful powder had run out and had dyed the grass anything but green. A number of people still remained, dancing to Bollywood music and taking photos of their multicolored bodies with their friends.
The colorful powder may have permanently dyed the clothes and belongings of the participants, however, the memories created made the celebration worthwhile.
SASA’s next event is a Bollywood Night on May 11, where students can experience more food and music native to South Asian culture.
