Written: AnhThy Nguyen
Photographed: The Holi festival’s participants
San Francisco – Saturday, April 25, 2015
People throw powder at complete strangers but no one seems to mind; music is playing out loud, the air is bright with colors. Happiness is reflected on every face as they are celebrating one of the most wonderful days of the year – the Holi festival.
Walking down the 17th street, you will find yourself blending into the crowd heading toward the event spot. It is easy to recognize the place as many people line up behind each other, smiling, fidgeting as they could hardly wait to get through the entrance. The entrance is set up by a chain of balloons shaped like a curve, pictures are hang on walls and barriers, baskets of colored powder are silently lying on the ground, DJ player is ready to rock the day.
Holi is a spring festival, also known as the festival of colors or the festival of love. It is an ancient Hindu religious festival which has become popular with non-Hindus all over the world. Though people celebrate it around the globe, hardly anyone knows the story behind the celebration.
Rajiv, a volunteer organizer who also planned for the Holi festival San Francisco 2014, shared: “There are many legends associated with the origin of this spring festival, but the most popular among them is the story about Prahlad, the son of the evil King Hiranyakashipu. Back in the old days in ancient India, there was a king named Hiranyakashipu. He was a demon and not only did he want to rule the whole universe, but he also ordered all in his kingdom to worship him, instead of God. At that time, he had a young little son called Prahlad, who was a devotee of Lord Vishnu, and his son disagreed with his greedy ambition. The demon king then wanted to kill the son. Despite the fact that he tried hard many times to destroy his son’s life, Prahlad was every time saved by Lord Vishnu. The King’s sister, Holika, also a demon, decided to help to kill Prahlad. As being immune to fire, one day, she sat on the pyre holding tight Prahlad on her laps with the conspiracy to burn the little son to death. However, the demon sister, because of using her immune power to do something evil, ended up being burnt to ashes, and the little Pradlah again got out of danger safely. This is how the Holi festival got its powerful meaning.” On the night before, bonfires are lit up, people gather around and throw a wooden piece shaped like demon Holika into the fire to celebrate the victory of good spirit over evil.
Apart from that, the Holi festival has other meanings as well. It marks the end of winter season, and welcomes the arrival of spring. It is also the time of the year for everyone to end conflicts, refresh their lives, and embark on something new.
In India, the festival with the color fight occurs everywhere, groups of people go from place to place, carrying drums and musical instruments, singing, and dancing. However, this year, the Holi festival 2015 in San Francisco, hosted by Asha Organization, takes place in an elementary school, in Castro District.
Asha is a non-profit organization that has more than 60 chapters worldwide, across three continents. Their mission is to stimulate socio-economic development in India by focusing on basic education and bring it to underprivileged children. The Holi festival is one of their events of the Asha San Francisco chapter to raise funds in order to support the projects of their beneficiary NGOs in India.
To bring this event to life, everything needs to be planned several months ahead of time, and the organizing team devotes themselves to it, from dust to dawn. It is a big challenge to hold an event for thousands of people. Rajiv recalled the process: “We tried to make it even bigger than last year. We prepared for the event since January, but it was still late. One of the hardest things was to find a location. It was pretty tough and required a lot of time as no one wanted their for-rent location to get dirty after that. We tried to appeal to young people living in San Francisco so we reached out to them by advertising through social media. Vishal, another organizer of the event, added: “Weather was another concern as well. We worried if it was going to be cold, and if so, it was understandable if people did not turn up. A bunch of other things needed to be done like contacting the DJ player, food trucks, setting up the playground, blowing up the balloons, printing out the tickets. It was super busy, but it was great since we were doing it for a noble cause and we had a reason to keep moving forward.”
Now it is easy to get the colored powder right in the Bay Area, and the crucial thing is that it is completely safe for health. “The powder was starch based and made out of food dyes without any harmful chemical. Even when you accidentally breathe it in, it is not harmful, and it also can totally be washed off,” he added.
As you get through the entrance, do not freak out if a complete stranger greets you by throwing a handful of powder directly to your face. Do not be afraid or hesitate to fight back. It is a fair game and everything is done in a spirit of celebration. All people get involved to the fight, with no distinctions between class, age, or gender. It is also part of the Holi festival’s meaning as it shortens the gap between people and brings joy to people from all walks of life.
Instead of running around, elderly people tend to smear powder on each other’s face. Linley Smith, 62, second time attending the event, happily said: “I love it. I smear the powder all over my granddaughter’s body. The more she is colored up, the more colors she will get in her life. I wish her all the best.”
At the corner, people hold each other’s hands, sing, dance, hug, kiss, and wish others “Happy Holi”. It is time for the Indian to show off their traditional dancing skills of the country that they are proud of, it is time for the foreigner to embark on new thing, and in the end, it is time for everyone to forget whatever burdens their lives, to set aside all of the distress, and to enjoy the pleasant moment of life.
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Thanks to the Asha organization, the celebration of good over evil is once again relived. If you have not been to any Holi festival, join it, you will thank them later as you do not want to miss one the most beautiful days on earth. And as an old saying goes: “Life is all about having a good time,” so let’s open your heart, put on your clothes, get ready to color up your life, and join the Holi festival in your area next time. |
For more information about other events, as well as the Asha organization and their profound efforts for a better life, please make your way to: http://new.ashanet.org
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