SOU
IND
Who says they don't Holi in the South
As an Indian born American resident since a young
age, Holi has always peaked my interest, but I was
never able to experience it first hand. I had seen the
pictures and read about it. I hadn't felt how unique
the festival really was but I've always felt a sense of
pride when Holi was mentioned anywhere. It wasn't
till I was about 12 that my time in
Hyderabad coincided with the festival date. I spent
all morning watching my grandmother prepare all
the sweets and dishes, and I even participated in the
prayer with her. I was so excited that I just wanted
to do everything. It wasn't till about 11am that I
actually got to get out of the house and run around
the neighborhood with colored powder and a water
gun. I spent all day just going around covering
complete strangers in color with kids I'd just made
friends with. And then someone cracked an egg on
my head and I was like ‘wait, we can do that?’
16
I went and got all the eggs in my grandma’s kitchen
and basically wreaked as much havoc as I could in
the 4 hrs of daylight left. The night came around
and Holi had ended for me, but I had made at least
5 new friends and turned my skin a shade of pink
I didn't know existed. Holi lived up to the hype for
me, and had changed my idea of what a
festival could be. Most importantly, I had no idea
that India as a country of many people and faiths
could come together and celebrate as one. Holi’s
ability to bring people together in such an
uninhibited way is the reason I think it's so unique.
At its core, Holi is about people and their
connections with the world around them, but from
the outside it's an explosion of color and beauty
that is not seen anywhere else in the world. Holi,
for me, is the best way to add color to people's lives.