A remix of “Bhare Bazaar” boomed from two speakers outside the Women’s Building. Near the entrance, a handful of students began to pinch powder from small plastic bags — brushing the vibrant colors on each other’s hair.

The soft laughter, as powder was smudged on faces, gradually erupted into a vibrant swirl of dancing.

On Sunday, the South Asian Students Association hosted its annual Holi festival. Known as the Festival of Colors, Holi is a Hindu festival celebrated each March. The festival is one of the most-celebrated in India and involves throwing colored powder with loved ones to usher in the brilliance of spring and spread the message of good over evil.

While the holiday itself was on March 20 and March 21, freshman Shelly Bhanot said SASA scheduled its own celebration as close to the holiday as they possibly could. She said celebrating Holi on campus is similar to how she celebrates at home.

Nikita Chatterjee (left) and Kelsey Davis celebrated Holi on Sunday. Molly Gibbs | Photo Editor

“The only difference that I can think of is that at home I go to the temple,” Bhanot said. For freshman Anjika Mehta, celebrating on campus is only a little different because at home, she celebrates with water balloon throwing, as well.

Planning the event involved getting budgets approved and purchasing color supplies. An hour before the festival’s 1 p.m. start, Bhanot and other members of SASA worked to prepare the bags of color.

The most difficult part was securing a venue, said sophomore Prabhanjan Balakrishnan, vice president of SASA. Originally, the event was set to take place indoors in Schine Underground on the actual day of Holi, but SASA was notified the week before spring break that the venue was no longer possible because the powder wouldn’t be allowed indoors.

“And then we were scrambling to find a different inside, indoors area,” Balakrishnan said. SASA then spoke with Recreation Services to seek other options, but was told nothing indoors was available.

Sara Haynes (left), Phoebe Smith, Shelly Bhanot and Laura Kirchner blow the colored powder. The festival on Sunday was open to the entire campus community. Molly Gibbs | Photo Editor

Abhinav Yadava, president of SASA, stressed the importance of celebrating Holi on the day it falls rather than the weekend after — as it affects the number of people who can attend. Last year, Holi was celebrated at SU on April 28, 57 days after Holi.

While this year’s on-campus festival did not fall on the day of the festival itself, he said hosting it closer to the holiday is better than having it in April.

“I’d rather do it now and have less people show up than have literally no one show up in the middle of April,” Yadava said.

Despite rough weather conditions earlier during the weekend, there were only patches of snow left on the Women’s Building field among the dozens of students and flying powder dust.

Abhinav Yadava (left) and Prabhanjan Balakrishnan, the president and vice president of SASA, respectively, helped organize this year’s Holi festival celebration at the Women’s Building field. Molly Gibbs | Photo Editor

Twenty minutes into Sunday’s festival, Yadava spoke with a Department of Public Safety officer who had pulled up next to the Women’s Building to address the noise level. As the officer drove away, Yadava said they weren’t going to lower the volume since they already had a permit.

Yadava recalls a similar incident at last year’s festival.

“If someone was playing English music, I don’t think they would’ve gotten the same issue. We want to have fun too,” Yadava said in regard to last year.

Yadava has held office since the beginning of the semester and said the organization continues to grow. While he said SASA currently has 20 members, he added that there’s a new face at every meeting — he hopes SASA will eventually double in size.

For Yadava, the main change he hopes to see is how people perceive SASA, as it represents the diversity of South Asia and encompasses people from all over the world. Balakrishnan said he feels they don’t always get the representation they deserve.

“It’s in progress, but I think that I’d like to see it come up a little more before I graduate because college goes by in the blink of an eye,” Balakrishnan said.

Holi is one of the most celebrated Hindu festivals in India and signifies the arrival of spring and triumph of good over evil. Molly Gibbs | Photo Editor

Within half an hour, SASA’s Holi event had grown to more than 50 people. Students came from all corners of the field, some wearing clean white shirts, ready to be coated with vibrant yellows, violets and reds.

For some, Sunday’s Holi festival was a tradition honored since childhood. But for others, it was a holiday they had never celebrated before.

Balakrishnan said the first time he celebrated Holi was on campus at SU. For him, Holi is about community.

“It’s not just brown people coming together,” Balakrishnan said. “We have all sorts of people coming and just having fun, having a good time. That’s what college is.”

Published on March 24, 2019 at 11:36 pm

Contact Haley: hrober03@syr.edu