Spring Break
Hindu festival includes paint throwing
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By NATHAN SOLHEIM Staff Writer
It should be a colorful weekend for those celebrating the Hindu holiday Holi.
The festival, which involves participants throwing colored powder and paints on each other, will take place Sunday at the Intramural Fields beginning at noon.
"We throw the colors all over the place," said Dhruti Contractor, president of the Indian Cultural Exchange. "The colors are pretty, and the colors are fun."
Holi is a Hindu religious ceremony but it is also a celebration of spring, comparable to Mardi Gras or Halloween, said Naveen Garg, head of the cultural committee for the Indian Cultural Exchange
"The annual festival celebrates the triumph of good over evil," Garg said.
Anyone can celebrate Holi, no matter what religion.
"Hinduism is open to all religions," Garg said. "So come and join us."
Contractor said people should also not be afraid of Holi.
"Don't think of it as pagan," Contractor said. "It's fun to try something from a different culture."
The story behind Holi dates back to ancient times.
Garg said the story begins with a father and a son. The father, Hiranakashyap, claimed to be God and ordered everyone to worship him. His son, Prahalad, refused to worship him as God and worshiped Vishnu, another Hindu god, instead.
Hiranakashyap became angered and tried to kill Prahalad, who survived all the attempts on his life. Disgusted, Hiranakashyap asked his sister Holika, who was immune to fire, to sit in a fire with Prahalad in her lap. But by the graces of Vishnu, Holika burned and not Prahalad. Vishnu then slew Hiranakashyap for a victory of good over evil. Holi, taken from the name Holika, became a celebration of this victory.
The celebration is being sponsored by the Indian Cultural Exchange, and the body painting is expected to last between 30 and 60 minutes, but the festivities are expected to last for most of the afternoon.
Contractor said to allay all fears.
"Don't be worried about getting your clothes dirty," Contractor said. "The colors will come off."
