Holi Hai- an Indian Festival of Colour

The Birmingham Museum of Art put on a traditional festival of colour to celebrate the day of Holi in India. The literal meaining of "Holi" is "burning". The ancient festival of India was originally known as Holika referencing the daughter of the demon king Hiranyakashyap. The legend says that Hiranyakashap won over the kingdom of earth and demanded everyone to worship him. His son, Prahlad, decided to worship Lord Naarayana and refused to worship his father. Hiranyakashyap tried to kill his son but Lord Vishnu saved him every time. Finally Hiranyakshyap convinced his daughter Holika to enter a blazing fire with Prahlad in her lap. Holika was able to enter a fire unharmed but what she did not know is that she was only safe from the fire if she entered it alone. When she coaxed Prahlad to sit in the fire with her Prahlad chanted the name of Lord Naarayana. The lord blessed him for his devotion and he came out of the fire unharmed. So Holi is derived from Holika and is celebrated as the triumph of good over evil. There are many other legends behind why Holi is celebrated and how it started. In earlier years it was a special rite performed by married women for happiness and well being of their families and the full moon was worshiped, but over the years the meaning has changed. Also, different places in India also have developed different versions of how Holi was first started. Now it is more known as the festival for the arrival of spring marking the end of the gloom of winter.
During Holi each year the streets of India are filled with powdered colour know as gulal and abeer. They traditionally use red, magenta, pink, green, and blue. Everyone runs around throwing the powdered colour at anyone and everyone. There are traditional dances and songs taking place in the streets with beautifully colored costuming. At the festival at BMA we were served some traditional Holi food. One thing I tried was called Dahi Badas which is similar to a hush puppy. It is full of spices which created a very rich flavor. It was very good but I could only handle one. There was also a sweet that I cant remember the name of :o/ but it was not very sweet. It was very flowery and had a peach/pink tint to it and was rolled into a ball. Since I am a lover a sweets the thickness and lack of sugar made it hard for me to finish a whole one. My favorite treat was a drink called thandai. Thandai is made of butter milk with pistachio and other spices. Traditionally in India cannabis is added. I was shocked that this drink was so smooth and creamy but not thick like I imagined buttermilk to be. They also had traditional dancing which was the most mezmarizing thing I have ever seen. The way the women and men moved with their colorful costumes was beautiful. The last thing and my favorite part of the entire day was when we walked out. They set up bowl full of the gulul and abeer (powdered colour) and everyone went wild! i felt like a child running in between people throwing the colour at people I have never met before. Every single person there, young chilren and older men and women had huge smiles on their faces. When we left we were covered from head to toe in all of the colors. I only wish I could go to India and experience the real thing!!