The usually quiet AU Quad was enveloped in a cloud of bright colors on April 7, as dozens of students gathered to celebrate Holi, the Indian Festival of Color.
Holi celebrates the coming of spring in India and is traditionally celebrated by throwing powder and water at those who attend the festivities.
Those who were prepared wore white, and those who weren’t watched as their clothes were destroyed by pink, yellow and red powdered paint provided by the South Asian Student Association, which hosted this event.
Holi was also co-sponsored by Student Government, AU Muslim Student Association, AU Bhangra, the Center for Diversity and Inclusion and the Residence Hall Association.
The event started at 2 p.m., with groups of soon-to-be-painted students hesitantly approaching the area outside of Kay.
After paint packets were distributed, the Quad became a swarm of bright colors, with attendees throwing powder at friends and strangers alike. Holi was open not just to AU students, but all members of the community.
“The most impressive thing to me was the diversity of the people there,” SIS junior Alison Pease said. “By that I mean there were not just AU students there, but also families and other people from the community. I think it’s great that AU takes the opportunity to celebrate such a fun holiday and that the community chooses to participate as well.”
Local DJ Naiem Reza played popular songs throughout the event from both the US and India. Those who were versed in Bollywood dance styles had a chance to shine in the center of one of the various dance circles that had formed. Everyone else was able to come together for some paint-covered group dances like “The Cupid Shuffle” and “Gangnam Style.”
Soon after, another component was added: water. Buckets were filled and combined with paint to make colored water that was then dumped on people’s heads or shot through one of the water guns provided by SASA.
The paint-stained, now wet Quad lent the perfect environment for a mud-sliding competition that cleared what was once the dance floor.
“Being Hindu, I’ve never had so much fun celebrating Holi,” CAS freshman Sarthak Batra said. “From the beautiful color to the thick mud, it was more than an experience, and I look forward to doing it next year, even though the aftermath of cleaning up was difficult.”
Batra also said that this event sparked his interest in joining SASA, which also catered free samosas, an Indian fried pastry, for the event.
After the celebration, the Quad was left stained bright red, resembling some sort of eerie abandoned battlefield after combat.
However, the only casualties in the event of the Holi festival were some white t-shirts and a few pairs of jeans.
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