After a long winter, spring has finally arrived and it’s time to celebrate!
Holi was celebrated worldwide on Friday, March 14 but was celebrated at the University of Memphis last Friday, March 21 in front of the International Center on campus. The event was hosted by the Indian Students Association, Hindu Students Organization, and International Student Association.
“Holi is a celebration of colors, but it also marks the beginning of spring in South Asian countries like India. So, today we’re celebrating Holi,” said Radha Zalawadia, the event coordinator for the Indian Students Association.
Before the event started, different colored powders were poured into several bottles and water balloons were filled. The bottles were set on a table on the lawn in front of the International Center.
“Holi is typically celebrated with throwing colors and also having food and dance,” Zalawadia said. “So similar to that, we’ll be having that here. We’ll be having colors, and then additionally water balloons, food, and then music in the background,”
Many people who attended the event changed into a white t-shirt. One of the white t-shirts was plain and the other one had a design with the word “Holi” and the logos for the three organizations that hosted the event. In India, people sometimes wear white when celebrating Holi, so the different colors can be seen.
Once the event started, people started picking up the bottles filled with colored powder and the fun and colorful celebration began.
Samosas, a popular Indian snack was served at the event. Samosas are a fried pastry shell usually filled with peas and potatoes and have a little spice as well. To go along with the samosas, there was a mango fruit juice that is popular in India and water.
People formed a circle and danced to the popular Bollywood music that was playing.
Jayasri Botha, the President of the Hindu Students Organization shared what Holi means to her.
“A fun festival celebrated by everyone irrespective of religion and age.”
Botha’s favorite part of the event was “playing with colors.”
The celebration of Holi on campus provides an opportunity for all students to come and celebrate a popular Indian festival, learn more about Indian culture, meet new people, and have fun.
Zalawadia also mentioned the Indian Student Association’s next event planned in April:
“We have a Gala Night that’s coming up on April 4th. It’ll be at the Rose Theater, and we’ll be having more information out very soon and we hope to see all of you guys there,” Zalawadia said.
The Hindu Students Organization will be hosting a ‘Ugadi Movie Night’ on Sunday, March 30 at 5:30pm in the Psychology Auditorium. Details about this event can be found on Tiger Zone.
