Festival of Colors | Photo by Bethany Althauser | The Wright State Guardian
Friday, April 12, marked Holi 2024 at Wright State University with students from across campus partaking in colored powder throwing, food and more to celebrate the beginning of spring.
History of the holiday
Every spring on the full-moon day of the Hindu month of Phalguna, India, Nepal and the Indian and Nepalese diaspora will light up with colored powder and water in a joyous celebration. A Hindu festival, Holi is celebrated across the world in a multitude of countries and locations.
The story behind this festival varies.
“In many places, the festival is associated with the legend of Hiranyakashipu, a demon king in ancient India,” the Britannica website reads.
Another popular story from Britannica is about Hindu deity Krishna, who has blue skin, falling in love with fair-skinned Radha. Krishna playfully colored Radha’s skin, which is thought to be a possible origin of the colorful celebration.
Despite its various origins, President of the Indian Student Association Sai Bhavana Meda identifies a common theme of the celebration.
“It’s basically good over evil, and so it has become a tradition in India, irrespective of any religion, people play this,” Meda said.
The powder used, known as gulal, is a mixture of various starches and dyes. Yellow is the most popular color, but Holi uses bright colors from across the rainbow.
Meda orchestrated the planning for WSU’s celebration, including the procurement of this powder, a month before the festival of colors. The University Center for International Education and the Asian Student Association also were major players in planning the event.
About ISA
The Indian Student Association hosts Holi every year, and this year was no exception. The organization assists Indian students and spreads Indian culture for Americans and the other nationalities present at WSU.
“We also try to do these kinds of cultural events where students feel that they’re still back in India, even though they’re in the U.S.,” Meda said.
ISA’s General Secretary Krisha Shirish Mehta agrees.
“There are many students here on student visas, and they feel homesick sometimes, so we don’t want them to feel left out or missing their families, so we just try to recreate as many festivals as possible,” Mehta said.
The colorful event
Holi at WSU took place at the Alumni Tower, providing plenty of green space for the playful activities. Just before the activities began, leadership almost canceled the celebration due to the chance of adverse weather but still chose to continue. Despite the chance of rain, all activities went smoothly.
Many wore white t-shirts to highlight the variety of colors, but any outfits were acceptable. ISA filled a small pool prior to the throwing of colors, brightening it with orange dye. The water was not a part of last year’s celebration and provided a welcome and exciting change for participants.
As far as food, attendees could partake in some samosas while listening to music played on nearby speakers. Games were also provided with prizes for the winners.
Commencing at around 2:30 p.m., the throwing of colors began. Dozens of students threw handfuls of the powder at each other while using water shooters to utilize the dyed pool. Many of the students were ISA members, but anyone could and did participate in the celebration.
One participant, Nandu Chilchlali, enjoyed the event greatly.
“We need to feel the colors and the joy. I love dancing in water, that’s why I came here,” Chilchlali said.
Mehta also rejoiced in the celebration.
“People were really enjoying it. I, myself, played in the water for four whole hours of Holi, so it was just an amazing experience,” Mehta said.
Mehta personally hopes that more people will choose to participate in Holi next year. ISA currently plans for WSU Holi to return in 2025.
