On Sunday, party-goers and powder-throwers will gather at Taipei’s Huashan 1914 Creative Park to celebrate Holi, a popular Hindu festival. Held yearly during the full moon of the vernal equinox on the Hindu calendar, Holi has come to symbolize the beginning of spring, a time when people repent their past misdeeds and forgive and forget, while dancing in dust-filled clouds of colored powder.
“The colorful festival helps to bridges social gaps and renew relationships,” says Mayur Srivastava, owner of Mayur Indian Kitchen and the event’s director.
The Indians’ Association of Taipei has celebrated the festival as a private event for years. And while the association still holds celebrations for its members, Srivastava, who has lived in Taipei for seven years, was keen on opening up the festival to the public. He’s been organizing the event at Huashan 1914 Creative Park for the past three years.
Photo courtesy of Mayur Srivastava
A TASTE OF INDIA IN TAIPEI
Srivastava says Holi is as much about creating cultural awareness as it is simply letting loose and making new friends. The event will also feature Bollywood dance performances and Indian snacks.
“Many people think of Holi as a fun event, similar to the Color Run. But to the Indian diaspora, it brings us a feeling of home, and to our children, knowledge of our culture,” Srivastava says.
Srivastava has watched the Holi celebration in Taipei grow in popularity over the years and is glad to see festival-goers, young and old alike, have a good time as they dance, laugh and play silly pranks on each other.
He is, however, a little concerned that the spiritual aspect is becoming too commercial. (A portion of proceeds from Sunday’s celebration will be donated to children’s charities.)
“There has been a disappearance of knowledge or awareness regarding the spiritual essence and social relevance of such festivals,” he says.
ENVIRONMENTAL CONCERNS
For those concerned about the environmental and health effects of colored powder, Srivastava says that, like previous years, they will use non-toxic, herbal plant-based dyes.
He adds that the Holi festival at Huashan should not be confused with the Color Runs that have become fashionable over the past few years, but which have also come in for criticism because of the amount of pollution generated.
About 30kg to 40kg of colored powder will be used for this year’s event.
“Taiwan is our adopted home,” Srivastaya says, “and we have actively chosen to select dyes and paints that are environmentally friendly, as well as non-toxic, to teach our children that having fun should never be damaging to yourself, your environment or your community.”
INDIAN MYTHOLOGY
The festival finds its origins in Hindu mythology. When the fireproof shawl on Holika, the malevolent sister of the demon king Hiranyakashipu, flew off her shoulders and encased Prahlada, the demon’s God-loving son, Holika was instantly set ablaze by the pyre while Prahlada survived. It was then that the God Vishnu appeared and vanquished Hiranyakashipu in one of the most triumphant showdowns between good and evil.
Over the past few centuries, Holika’s burning has been celebrated in various ways throughout India. One day, on the day after the Holika bonfire, children started throwing colored powder at each other. Apparently, someone thought this to be a marvelous idea, and the Holi festival was born.
PREPARING FOR THE POWDER
General precautions include covering your eyes with sunglasses and applying cream on your face to ensure that the powder will be easily removed when you wash up with water. Contact lens wearers should also immediately discard their lenses and apply new ones if they feel any irritation, while mobile phones should be wrapped in plastic.
Srivastaya recommends participants wear inexpensive white clothing that you can wash or recycle after the festivities.
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