An array of colors filled up the sky at Santa Rosa Park in San Luis Obispo this past Saturday afternoon.
For those of you who don’t know, Holi is a spring festival celebrated originally by Hindus, but is now celebrated around the world by people of all religions. During Holi, or “festival of colors,” multicolored dry powders are thrown at people to get them as colorful as possible. (It’s like 5k Color Runs minus the 5k.)
This fun and lively event is put on by Cal Poly’s Indian Student Association (ISA).
That day was my first time celebrating Holi, and it was definitely an amazing experience. Over 50 people attended this celebration. All of them dawning white shirts, perfect for the colors to show. Bollywood music blared in the background. All the participants got their colored powder packets and, suddenly, everyone was a target.
The chase was on. Running after friends, we all sprinted, chucking powder onto anyone in sight. Laughter and shrieks of joy joined with the music. My clothes, hair and face were soon covered in different colors of powder. And that was just the beginning.
I was running after a friend, and had stopped to tie my shoe. What a rookie mistake. The next thing I knew, someone had taken a water balloon and thrown it right at my back. A whole new war had been set into motion.
Now with water involved, the whole game had changed. Water balloons and powder flew across the park. The grass was no longer green; it had become a rainbow of colors.
In the end, with people drenched in water or covered in colors, we all came together to take one last picture. Colors flew in the air, smiles were across everyone’s faces; the celebration was truly beautiful.
If you missed the celebration this year, don’t worry. Holi takes place annually at the start of spring. So next time, bring your friends, wear a white shirt and get ready to be embraced by a whirlpool of color.