South Asian Splash of Lively Colours – Holi
Enjoy Holi with the South Asian community @ Swiss Cottage, March 23rd
Multicoloured crowdsurfing. photo sourced from sangamucf.wordpress.com
Thanks to Camden Council who are supporting Magic of India – the organisers of the event, Holi will be celebrated outdoors in London for the first time. A great opportunity to experience one of the best known and most fun holidays in Hinduism, wherever you’re from.
Holi is presently celebrated everywhere as the triumph of good over evil, rebirth, love and all that is nice by people in raggedy clothes getting together and throwing coloured powder (‘rang’) at each other. Within its name, however, deeper, darker mysteries await to be uncovered. To wit:
As Hindu legend has it, Prahlada, the good son of an evil demon king called Hiranyakashipu kept offering his faith and praise to Lord Vishnu despite his father’s furious wishes to the contrary.
Although he was seemingly impossible to kill, that didn’t stop the psycho dad from attempting murder on his own offspring multiple times, through more or less standard Hindi mythological means such as having Prahlada trampled by elephants (not a bruise), poisoned (miraculously turned into nectar) or locked in a small room with starving venomous snakes (no luck this time either).
Desperate, he ordered his son to be burned at the stake in the lap of his allegedly fireproof-by-divine-boon demoness aunt named Holika (!), Hiranyakashipu’s sister. Vishnu, however, wouldn’t have it and instead worked a bit of magic to have Holika burned to smithereens in a spectacle of colourful sparks and flames, saving little Prahlada forever. Happy days.
It’s a child-friendly festival which guarantees lots of giggles and photo opportunities. Don’t wear your favourite t-shirt, though.
For more details (like the exact location), sign up on the Facebook event page.
See you all there.
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