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The Holi-Festival of Colors is celebrated in early spring as a show of goodwill and cheer by the Indian people, and is part of “India Night,” here at the University of Louisville.
India Night was initiated by the Student Activities Board in 2001, along with other ethnic groups in an attempt to create an awareness on campus.
This year’s celebration was held Saturday at the Red Barn from 7-11 p.m.
Bhatnagar hoped having the event at the Red Barn might bring more people in. “The Red Barn is a more fun place, more informal,” Bhatnagar said.
The party opened with free food catered by Cafe 360 and food was available from 7-8 p.m.
Following dinner, the show started with Indian dance performances. The dancers were U of L students, but not all the dancers were Indian, which, “shows acceptance of other ethnic groups by the Indian culture,” Bhatnagar said.
After dinner and the dance performances, a presentation was given discussing famous people from India including Mahatma Gandhi and the young freedom fighter, Bhagat Sindh (who died during the Indian freedom struggle), the different religions practiced in India and Holi – the festival of colors, a celebration of spring.
The Holi festival is smaller and leads up to the larger Indian Diwali Festival, or Festival of Lights, which takes place in late October or early November and marks the transition of winter to spring, according to Bhatnagar.
This event is another very colorful and pretty celebration and involves more of the community since it is open to everyone. In the recent years the turnout for this event has been about 700 people and it takes place in the multi-purpose room of the SAC.
The presentation ended with a short talk about India as a whole, its past, present and future.
A booth was set up handing out pamphlets filled with information about the Indian culture.
The evening and show closed with a two-hour open dance party, with pop music played from the Indian film industry “Bollywood.”
According to Bhatnagar there were about 85-90 in attendance at the Red Barn and everyone enjoyed the night.
For more information concerning upcoming events, contact Bhatnagar at 502-417-0815 or e-mail him at s0bhat04@louisville.edu.
