On April 6th, for the first time ever, I experienced Holi with my friends at Hampshire College. It was such a blast, and I feel so fortunate to be able to experience this. Without further ado, let’s take a trip down memory lane and reflect on the whole experience of Holi!
WHat is Holi?
Holi, also known as Festival of Colors, is a Hindu festival celebrated in March that “marks the end of winter and honors the triumph of good over evil.” During the festival, people usually throw colorful powder all over each other and also dance to music!
My Experience!
Overall, it was a 10/10 experience! It felt really playful and fun, and it honestly made my inner child happy because I was just being silly with my friends. My friend who has done Holi many times gave me the rundown on what it was going to be like and how to prepare myself. She told me to wear white and to wear workout pants or something comfortable to move around in. So, I wore a white tank top and black leggings, however, they were giving out free white t-shirts for the event so I wore that over my tank top. It was so crazy that my tank top under my new shirt still got stained!
Essentially, there were people putting powder in multiple buckets and there were so many different colors. There was blue, yellow, purple, neon pink, teal, and orange! They also had water guns for people to mix the powder and COLD water together to spray people.
I remember when I tried to grab a handful of powder the person who was setting up said “Happy Holi!” and then BAM! I get hit in the face with a bunch of blue powder by that them. That’s when I started grabbing the powder and throwing it on my friends, and leaving marks on their clothes. It was also so much fun chasing down my friends with the water gun and scaring; the water was so cold that no one wanted to be wet, but thanks to me a water fight started! Then the entire hour, I’m throwing powder and water balloons, splashing people with water, dancing to music with my friends, and getting drenched with a mix of colorful powder and water. It was covering my entire body, I even got some in my nose and on my teeth! We took so many pictures of ourselves covered in the powder, and we looked so colorful, it was so pretty!
Afterwards, we went on a side quest and explored Hampshire College, and we found a rock-climbing space, a gym, and apparently there was a pool somewhere we couldn’t access. It was such a random adventure because me and my friends (do not do this without a harness and a professional around) did some rock climbing and went on the cycling machine while still covered in powder. So I guess it was a mix of Holi and a spontaneous workout, but the food afterwards was definitely needed after our gym grind.
The food was amazing! They had so many options, but I ended up getting naan and panner and it was very fulfilling after a fun event.
Overall, my first Holi was a wonderful of experience! I’m so happy my friend was able to take me, and I cannot wait to do it again at the UMass Amherst Holi in May!
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