By: Maggie Sharp
The Holi festival of colors at Western did not disappoint.
Holi is an Indian festival on the day of the first full moon in March, celebrating the triumph of good over evil and a thankfulness for a good harvest. The purpose of the colored paint is to celebrate this and bring color to everyone’s lives.
Srinitha Mandadi is a graduate student at Western who works in the International Student Services (ISS) office. Mandadi worked on getting the funds and permission to have the festival.
“The best part for me was playing with the Holi, having the games and of course the food,” Mandadi said.
The atmosphere was unlike any other. Western students had the chance to experience Indian food, music and throwing all sorts of colored paints.
Between 80-100 students showed up to participate and many more stopped by just to see what was going on.
As soon as students received the go ahead the air was so filled with colored dust it was impossible to see through. Participants tossed paint in the air, flung handfuls at their friends, drew on their faces and found every possible way to spread it across the campus lawn.
Freshman Mikayla Bertels arrived at the very end of the festival, missing the colors and games, but still managed to get completely pink and blue.
“We always did color runs in highschool but nothing like this,” Bertels said. “This was way better and I didn’t even get to do it.”
The Holi festival was a chance for many students to learn about the Indian culture as well as participate in an engaging and enjoyable event. Thanks to the ISS, this is the third year Western students have gotten to experience a Holi festival on campus.
