Students Embrace the Rainbow at Holi Festival
The Academy Building lawn was an explosion of colored paint, water and powder as Exonians celebrated the annual Holi Festival this past Sunday, hosted by Hindu Society. Students flocked to spray their friends with reds, blues and purples, celebrating the ancient Indian festival of colors the Exeter way.“I used to think of it as a celebration of spring,” school minister and Hindu Society advisor Reverend Robert Thompson said. “But it’s really about color. It’s about new life. It has a meaning beyond its religious meaning.”Thompson and Religious Services staff assistant Linda Safford worked with the Hindu Society since the end of the winter term to organize the event.
A labor of planning
“We met with the group a few extra times and had a checklist for ordering shirts, ordering powder, making sure the Academy lawn would be a good place to have the event,” Hindu Society co-head Sumun Khetpal said. “We started with the posters and things two weeks before. Holi was very much made possible by the faculty.”Holi is traditionally celebrated in northern India. The widespread festivities are held in the streets, where people of all ages and backgrounds throw colored powder and dance, sing and eat together. The holiday historically celebrates the Hindu god Krishna and the legend of Holika and Prahlad, a story of good overcoming evil.Khetpal introduced Holi to Exeter when she was a lower. “I think that Holi is seen as a highlight of spring term, and it seems to be very well received in the Exeter community,” Khetpal said. “As a lower I tried to bring this to campus, and talked with Rev and Ms. Safford. We had this image of having Hindu society make a presence on campus and allowing Hindu society to have the legacy that we would need.”Thompson was optimistic about the event. “There are some students here who have that ancestry and have never experienced Holi, so I was excited for them to see what the celebration is like,” Thompson said. “You’d have to get the whole school and then some to get the real feeling of Holi. We can’t make it exactly how it should be, the way it is where it has originated, but the exuberance, the abandon—I think that that is a big part of it.”
"A fun way to relieve stress"
Students also looked forward to the event, reflected by Holi’s successful turnout. Kheptal estimated a crowd of 100 to 120 students.“I went last year and it was great, and this year was even better,” lower Casey Osborne said.“It was a fun way to relieve stress and hang out with friends on a weekend,” senior Serena Sun said. “Seniors last year told me it was really fun; that’s why I made sure to go this year. I wish I knew more about the actual religious aspect of it, though.”Many enjoyed staining friends’ clothes and faces with colored paint and shooting water at classmates.“Some of the aftermaths are really funny,” lower Kenny Berger said. “I know a guy who still has pink hair from it.”The event was so popular, supplies depleted faster than expected.“We just about doubled the amount of color we had this year, but it ran out in about the same time,” Thompson said. “If we allow ourselves to think about it as only a half-hour event, the next one will go even better.”Students are already looking forward to next year’s Holi celebration after this year’s success. “It was a lot of fun,” lower Rajan Varma said. “Everyone was covered in paint and having a great time. I hope they do it again next year.”