"I'm so excited right now," one of my roommates, Rav, told us as we headed out the door on Saturday afternoon. Not that she'd needed to say it aloud-- I could see it in the grin on her face and the extra spring in her step. She'd been waiting for this all year, and her energy was certainly infectious.
The three of us-- Rav, our other roommate, Kat, and I-- filed down the stairs outside our apartment and off to the DeRosa University Center, where a few tables had been set up along the edge of the lawn. One was selling packets of colored powder, and another had trays of Indian snacks laid out for passerby to taste. In between them, a bright blue DJ tent stood tall and proud, blasting Hindu music for the whole campus to hear. (Rav decided almost immediately that the music needed an upgrade, and later gave the DJ her phone so he could play some Punjabi songs instead. I'm definitely not an expert on any kind of Indian music, so I decided I'd just wiggle my booty to all of it.)
Univeristy of the Pacific's Indian Students Association was putting on a Holi celebration for the whole campus, and we were more than ready to attack each other with color. Holi is traditionally a Hindu holiday, though it's been adopted by other Indian religions, like Sikhism, for various reasons. It's also been called the "festival of color," and although it's usually celebrated in late February or early March, we got the chance to have some colorful fun a little later this year. The spirit of Holi is simply coming together and celebrating the people around you, and that was exactly what we did.
Before my friends and I actually started our color war, we decked ourselves out in brand new white shirts and whatever other clothes we had that we cared little about keeping clean.
Those poor shirts had no idea what was coming for them, and frankly, neither did we.
Each of us started off with two ziplock bags of color apiece. I chose pink and purple as my starters, the first being an homage of sorts to my girlfriend down in SoCal, the second being my personal favorite. For a while, we simply loitered around the lawn with our other friend, Sukhi, waiting for more people to show up because we were too nervous to be the only ones playing.
It took less than five minutes for us to say "screw that" and let all hell break loose.
The air turned into one massive, puffy rainbow, greens and blues and reds flying left and right as we chased one another around the grass. Every breath came with inhaling colored dust, and I wouldn't be surprised if my lungs were tie-dyed by this point. We streaked each other's faces with our fingertips and spattered our shirts like Jackson Pollock paintings. I finally got to see what I'd look like if I was brave enough to dye my hair funky colors, thanks to several bags of powder dumped on my head.
Our screams and laughter seemed to spark enthusiasm in others, and soon enough a much larger crowd had formed, all happy to join in the war. Every so often, we would all gather around the edge of the sidewalk to watch a group of dancers from the ISA perform in traditional Indian suits. They were all more lovely than I could ever hope to be, and seeing them dance made me glad they had the chance to celebrate their culture with the rest of our campus.
It was one of the most fun things I'd ever done.
By the end of the event, my friends and I looked more like an explosion at a paint factory than normal humans. Little Kid Me had always wanted to have a paint fight with someone, and although this was powder instead, it was honestly a dream come true.
When we finally headed back upstairs to go get cleaned up, none of us could stop raving about how amazing Holi had been. Rav called her family as soon as we got home so she could show off how messy we all were and tell them all about her first time ever playing Holi. It warmed my heart to see her so happy, and to know that we'd been able to celebrate a piece of her culture with her
These kinds of events are so incredibly important to share with communities like University of the Pacific. There's so much beauty and joy in holidays like Holi that come from all over the world. I've made new memories I'll be able to cherish forever because the Indian Students Association here was kind enough to bring Holi to everyone at UOP. Our cultures are all unique and wonderful, and we should let them make us closer, not divide us. Cherish the differences that we can all celebrate together-- your life will be so much more colorful because of it.
