Holi festival set to bring local color

Dunn Meadow serves as a meeting place for many events during the year, and an upcoming celebration may be the messiest one yet.

“Most people walking by Dunn Meadow on Friday afternoon will not know why people are throwing colored powder and water balloons at each other but will be curious to find out,” said senior Anisha Kumar, president of the Delta Phi Omega sorority.

The Holi Festival will bring the culture of India to Dunn Meadow from 4 to 6 p.m.  Friday. The event is sponsored by the Asian Cultural Center in partnership with other organizations, including Delta Phi Omega. Admission is free and will feature ethnic cuisine, performances, speeches and henna.

Senior Priyanka Dube was the chief organizer of the event. She said the festival traditionally occurs in India as a religious event to commemorate the coming of spring
and the triumph of good over evil.

“It’s a big holiday there. People get work off, students don’t have school, everyone just has a good and happy time,” Dube said.

IU’s version of Holi will share many of the same characteristics of the traditional festival. Indian cuisine will be available from Taste of India, and student representatives form the Asian Cultural Center will give speeches concerning the event.

Despite the full schedule of events for Friday afternoon, Dube and Kumar said there will be one aspect of the event that will draw in attendees. A color fight is scheduled to take place at 5:30 p.m., when those in attendance will throw colored powders at each other.

“The powder is called gulal, which means rose. It’s actually rose petals ground up into powder with color added, so it smells nice and spring-like,” Dube said.

The color fight and the festival’s other activities will give patrons a taste of a culture that may be foreign to them, something that Kumar said makes Holi a valuable experience for students.

“Cultural events provide students with a fun, free way to learn about other cultures and participate in activities they usually wouldn’t have the opportunity to be a part of. Part of a successful college career is to experience new things and learn about other cultures,” Kumar said.

Junior Shaqib Habib said he hopes to attend Holi Festival because of this chance to experience something new.

“I have never attended a Holi event. I just see events like these in movies and in the media, and I would like to experience it firsthand. Many of my friends are from India or have Indian descent, and I would like to submerge myself in many of their traditions,” Habib said.
 
The event will also serve as a benefit. Donation boxes will be present with all proceeds collected to go directly toward Japan relief efforts.