Happy Holi

Holi is a Hindu festival that celebrates the start of spring. It is also known as the festival ofcolors or the festival of sharing love. Every year, the Vanderbilt South Asian Cultural Exchange (SACE) hosts its own Holi festival. In previous years, it’s been on Wilson Lawn but the last two years it’s been on Alumni.

 

 

It’s always so much fun to see the student population come together to throw colored powdered at each other and delight in the brighter weather. It’s definitely a well-attended event, and I love the chance to run into friends from my AWB and ASB sites who I normally don’t see around campus. It can be a bit hard to recognize them at first, though, because they are covered head to toe in different colors. We’ll hug and then run for the tables, where SACE members are pouring bags of powdered out, so we can douse each other in more color. Pat, don’t grab is the thing to remember. It’s the best way to pick up the powder from the table, and it’s also an effective motto for how to treat other festival goers. You don’t want to just grab a random person and start smearing colored powder on them. There’s a general respect in the crowd that it’s okay to pat someone on the shoulder or back and add some color to their new ensemble.

 

 

The music was on point, and a flash mob even started. I was so busy learning how to Wobble that I forgot that I was supposed to leave early to get my car serviced. After participating in the final group photo, where everyone threw turquoise powder up in the air, I checked my phone and panicked. With no time to take a shower, I jumped in my car and drove to Franklin. On the way there, I used some makeup wipes to make my face presentable, but as I walked into the Honda Dealership, my hair and body were stilled covered in the bright and crazy colors. I definitely got some weird looks, but I figured if Kesha can rock fun hair colors on the daily, then I could pull it off for a few hours. Holi is one of my favorite springtime Vandy activities, and I’m glad I didn’t miss it this year, even if I did freak out the other people in the dealership.