Celebrating one of the biggest Indian festivals
Continuing the theme of our team being so fortunate with the experiences we’ve been able to take part in, we were lucky enough to be able to celebrate one of India’s biggest festivals that took place on March 21 this year.
Holi, the festival of colors, is an ancient Hindu festival which has since become widely popular among non-Hindu communities. It celebrates the end of winter and the welcoming of spring and is a day dedicated to spreading love and happiness.
Today it is a tradition of throwing brightly colored powder and water on one another to try and “color” each other as a sign of affection. The custom of “playing with colors” originated from the love story of Radha and Krishna — two Hindu gods.
Krishna is the Hindu god famously depicted as having bright blue skin and the god of compassion and love in Hinduism. Legend has it he was sad (or even jealous) he didn’t have a fair complexion like his lover Radha. He told his mother about this and she suggested that instead of wishing for fair skin, he should instead smear Radha with paint, so they both have colored skin. Impressed with the idea, Krishna proceeded to do so and the playing of colors on Holi was introduced.
It is now celebrated by family, friends and even strangers coming together in parks, streets or common areas to greet each other with “happy holi” and smear brightly colored powder on each other.
It is a day filled with music, dancing, fun and of course lots of bright colors!
We celebrated Holi at our client, NITTTR, with the larger IBM team and it was a day filled with so much joy, energy, love and laughter. From throwing colors to learning Punjabi dance moves, it was a celebration all ages came together to enjoy. Our NITTTR colleagues invited us in to their Holi festival with open arms and it is without a doubt, a highlight of my time here in India.
