The recent Holi celebration held at the Waikato University campus Village Green saw an explosion of colour, dance, and festivities for the holiday. The ‘Festival of Colours’ brought a crowd of people together, who all left covered in evidence of their joy for the day. The celebration signifies the beginning of spring, love, togetherness, and the triumph of good. Holi brings people together through celebrations of colour, music, dancing, and food, and we bond in the spirit of love.

Holi can be traced back to origins such as ‘The Legend of Prahlad and Holika’ and ‘Radha-Krishna and the Festival of Colours’, which are now reasons for Holika Dahan (a bonfire) which is celebrated just before Holi, and how the tradition of integrating colour into the festivities was introduced. ‘The tradition of playing with colours has been an integral part of Holi, symbolising love, unity, and breaking social barriers’- Dhawan Sehdev (President of Waikato Indian Students Community- WISC). Sehdev also commented that, ‘Holi brings people together, dissolving differences in caste, status, and age. It is a time of forgiveness, renewal, and spreading joy through colours, music, dance, and feasting’.

The Holi event recently was organised by Work It Waikato and WISC Club, which saw around three hundred and thirty-eight students participate.