Gurtej Singh Bhamra, Grade 11
UWCEA Moshi
Bright colors painting the air, people all rejoicing and dancing in immense crowds and sweet desserts on all corners… I was looking at a Google image of Holi being celebrated in India. Holi is the “festival of colors'' or “festival of love.” and is celebrated throughout South Asia. People celebrate Holi by smearing each other with powdered colors, symbolizing the victory of good over evil. A majority of the people at UWCEA had not celebrated Holi, but this disparity would soon change. The idea of a Holi event was initiated by my math teacher, Mr. Rahul; my classmate, Kavya, and myself. Kavya and I, being in the Student Government, the Cultural Committee proposed if we could organize a Holi event. The head of campus, Mr. Cofer, having lived in Nepal happily, agreed. It was here that the quest to make Holi a reality in school began.
First, we agreed on having at least 12KGs of colors, but how would we get it? The search began in the town’s local shops, where all the packets we found were overpriced, breaking the event’s budget. Then we outsourced and looked at nearby cities like Nairobi and Dar es Salaam, where packets cost less, but were certainly not cheap. The reason was that all the exports came from India and dealers had to charge extra for shipping. This is not possible from India either as none of us have a permit. When everything seemed hopeless, my mom came up with a simple and almost obvious solution: to make the colors ourselves. The only ingredients we needed were cornstarch, water, and food coloring. This would allow us to save money and extend the amount of colors we could make.
A week or so before the event, we gathered together a great deal, as we felt it would be our treat for everyone else. Nonetheless, many other students also chimed in. By the end of making the powdered colors, it seemed a lab experiment had gone wrong in the chemistry lab. Irrepressibly, people had decided that Holi was going to start a week early and so we were all smeared with color. Apart from just making the colors, members of the Cultural Committee decided that we needed to provide as pure of a Holi experience as possible. Firstly, we decided to arrange a South Asian dinner with various foods such as puris, chole, gulab jamun, lassi, and more. Secondly, we agreed that everyone should dress in traditional attire, be it kurtas, saris, lehengas, or simply themed earrings or bracelets. However, for the throwing of the powdered colors, the dress code was white or any old clothes. After our final meeting with the head of campus, Mr. Cofer, Holi was set to take the stage at the school as UWCEA for the first time.
When Holi finally came, you could feel the buzz in the air. People dressed in kurtas, saris, and various kinds of traditional South Asian dress, all posing and taking pictures. One teacher even described it as a Bollywood film. Then on the Friday of that week, the Cultural Committee, along with several others began setting up the event, bringing in the tables, the trays of powdered colors, and buckets filled with water. As we were organizing everything, a part of me doubted whether this would work. What if nobody showed up? What if nobody enjoyed it? What if all our hard work was for nothing? We would just have to wait and see.
The clock struck three o’clock and the only people our group members could see were ourselves. Then, minute by minute, more and more people started to arrive. It was a South Asian event, so we should have at least predicted South Asian timing. After 20 minutes or so, the pitch was filled with primary and secondary students and teachers alike. When the color stations opened, instantly everything was a blur of hues. In a matter of minutes, everyone’s white shirts had exploded with color/it seemed nobody was wearing white t-shirts. Even the school director, Ms. Marsden, and the head of campus, Mr. Morley, had handfuls of colors and buckets of water drenched on them. After the colors were nearly exhausted, everyone took to the middle of the dance floor (football pitch) and began to show off their dance moves. It truly felt like I was in a Bollywood film. From Africans, Europeans, South Americans, and more, including teachers and students, everyone was involved.
As is the ideal way to close off Holi, the rain swept in and washed everything off. A sign of a new beginning. Then, after rushing all the speakers and the rest of the equipment under a shelter, we freshened up and made our way to dinner. Never had I seen so many of my traditional foods in the dining hall. It was a heartening experience sharing this food with my close friends and peers.
To conclude, Holi is truly the “festival of love”, having brought so many people together to have such a thrilling time. Holi was such a success that even the director declared that we make Holi an annual event at the school, next time with more people and of course, more color. In the coming years, I look forward to not just celebrating Holi, but various other celebrations so everyone has the chance to share and learn from each other’s unique cultures. As the Indian American writer Siddharth Katragadda quotes, “the greatness of a culture can be found in its festivals”, so let us celebrate them as much as we can.
Note of Thanks
At first, I doubted whether this would be a success, but with the team behind the event, doubt should have never crossed my mind. For all the weeks of preparation, to ensure a flawless execution, thank you to Ms. Tahera and the dining hall staff, the Student Government and Cultural Committee, Mr. Cofer, Mr. Simon, Mr. Rahul, parents, and everyone else involved. Catch you all next year!
Photo Credits: Ally Mwasi, @mwasiphotography
First, we agreed on having at least 12KGs of colors, but how would we get it? The search began in the town’s local shops, where all the packets we found were overpriced, breaking the event’s budget. Then we outsourced and looked at nearby cities like Nairobi and Dar es Salaam, where packets cost less, but were certainly not cheap. The reason was that all the exports came from India and dealers had to charge extra for shipping. This is not possible from India either as none of us have a permit. When everything seemed hopeless, my mom came up with a simple and almost obvious solution: to make the colors ourselves. The only ingredients we needed were cornstarch, water, and food coloring. This would allow us to save money and extend the amount of colors we could make.
A week or so before the event, we gathered together a great deal, as we felt it would be our treat for everyone else. Nonetheless, many other students also chimed in. By the end of making the powdered colors, it seemed a lab experiment had gone wrong in the chemistry lab. Irrepressibly, people had decided that Holi was going to start a week early and so we were all smeared with color. Apart from just making the colors, members of the Cultural Committee decided that we needed to provide as pure of a Holi experience as possible. Firstly, we decided to arrange a South Asian dinner with various foods such as puris, chole, gulab jamun, lassi, and more. Secondly, we agreed that everyone should dress in traditional attire, be it kurtas, saris, lehengas, or simply themed earrings or bracelets. However, for the throwing of the powdered colors, the dress code was white or any old clothes. After our final meeting with the head of campus, Mr. Cofer, Holi was set to take the stage at the school as UWCEA for the first time.
When Holi finally came, you could feel the buzz in the air. People dressed in kurtas, saris, and various kinds of traditional South Asian dress, all posing and taking pictures. One teacher even described it as a Bollywood film. Then on the Friday of that week, the Cultural Committee, along with several others began setting up the event, bringing in the tables, the trays of powdered colors, and buckets filled with water. As we were organizing everything, a part of me doubted whether this would work. What if nobody showed up? What if nobody enjoyed it? What if all our hard work was for nothing? We would just have to wait and see.
The clock struck three o’clock and the only people our group members could see were ourselves. Then, minute by minute, more and more people started to arrive. It was a South Asian event, so we should have at least predicted South Asian timing. After 20 minutes or so, the pitch was filled with primary and secondary students and teachers alike. When the color stations opened, instantly everything was a blur of hues. In a matter of minutes, everyone’s white shirts had exploded with color/it seemed nobody was wearing white t-shirts. Even the school director, Ms. Marsden, and the head of campus, Mr. Morley, had handfuls of colors and buckets of water drenched on them. After the colors were nearly exhausted, everyone took to the middle of the dance floor (football pitch) and began to show off their dance moves. It truly felt like I was in a Bollywood film. From Africans, Europeans, South Americans, and more, including teachers and students, everyone was involved.
As is the ideal way to close off Holi, the rain swept in and washed everything off. A sign of a new beginning. Then, after rushing all the speakers and the rest of the equipment under a shelter, we freshened up and made our way to dinner. Never had I seen so many of my traditional foods in the dining hall. It was a heartening experience sharing this food with my close friends and peers.
To conclude, Holi is truly the “festival of love”, having brought so many people together to have such a thrilling time. Holi was such a success that even the director declared that we make Holi an annual event at the school, next time with more people and of course, more color. In the coming years, I look forward to not just celebrating Holi, but various other celebrations so everyone has the chance to share and learn from each other’s unique cultures. As the Indian American writer Siddharth Katragadda quotes, “the greatness of a culture can be found in its festivals”, so let us celebrate them as much as we can.
Note of Thanks
At first, I doubted whether this would be a success, but with the team behind the event, doubt should have never crossed my mind. For all the weeks of preparation, to ensure a flawless execution, thank you to Ms. Tahera and the dining hall staff, the Student Government and Cultural Committee, Mr. Cofer, Mr. Simon, Mr. Rahul, parents, and everyone else involved. Catch you all next year!
Photo Credits: Ally Mwasi, @mwasiphotography
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