When I think of Holi, I think of just pure chaotic madness. Children throwing water balloons and aiming water guns at one another, adults throwing buckets of water while perched upon rooftops and everyone splashing each other with color – that’s the Holi I knew when I grew up in India. I never dreamed it would be possible to enjoy it when I came to the United States, but I was ecstatic when I found out that student organizations at UMass were hosting a Holi event.
Holi – an annual holiday — is normally celebrated the day after the full moon in March. This year, Holi fell on March 27. I have often been asked what the significance of this holiday is and I have heard so many stories that I could not possibly write them all and do them justice, but I’ll attempt to explain the Hindu mythology behind it here.
Holi, which was derived from the name Holika, refers to a legend I often heard as I grew up. There was once a demon king by the name of Hiranyakashyap who won over the kingdom of earth. He was so egoistic that he commanded everybody in his kingdom to worship him and only him. But to his great disappointment, his son Prahlad became an ardent devotee of Lord Narayana, another god, and refused to worship his father.
Hiranyakashyap tried several times to kill his son Prahlad, but the Lord Narayana, also known as Vishnu, saved him every time. As a last resort, Hiranyakashyap asked Prahlad’s sister Holika to enter a blazing fire with Prahlad on her lap. The reason that he asked her to do this was because Holika had a blessing whereby she could enter the fire unscathed. So Hiranyakshyap felt that this would be a foolproof way to be rid of Prahlad.
According to the tale, Holika treacherously coaxed young Prahlad to sit on her lap as she entered the blazing fire. The legend has it that Holika had to pay the price for her sin of the attempted murder of an innocent child; she paid with her life and she was not aware that the blessing worked only when she entered the fire alone. Prahlad, who kept chanting the name of Lord Narayana all this while, came out unharmed as the lord blessed him for his extreme devotion.
In this simple version of the tale, Holi celebrates the triumph of good over evil. It celebrates innocence and devotion over greed and vanity. The colors celebrate brotherhood and unity; we are all the same. It can mean different things to different people, regardless of whether they grew up with the legend or not. When I enter into the fray ready with my water balloons, I walk down memory lane to the early days of my childhood. Whether you are celebrating your inner child or making a statement of unity, Holi is a festival that can be loved and appreciated. So the next time that you are presented with an opportunity to participate in Holi, I hope you bring a white T-shirt that you don’t mind getting dirty, because I promise you it will be a day you will not forget.
Divija Mohan is a Collegian contributor and can be reached at [email protected].
