NC State’s Maitri, the Indian graduate student organization, and Ektaa, the South Asian student organization, came together on Sunday to host the annual NC State Holi celebration. The festival hosted hundreds of students and had a DJ playing live Bollywood and top-40 hits while students participated in the tradition.
Sriram Ranga, co-president of Ektaa and a junior studying electrical engineering, said, “We hold this event in collaboration with Maitri and Delta Sigma Iota every year because it’s an event that our members and students of NC State truly enjoy and appreciate. Even with the rescheduling of the event due to rain, this year was a success, with about 400 in attendance.”
Holi originated as a Hindu festival that celebrated the divine love between Krishna, the eighth holy incarnation of Vishnu, and his true love, Radha.
Today, Holi is a tradition that is celebrated throughout India as the festival of colors, marking the arrival of spring and, along with it, prosperity, togetherness and thankfulness for a good harvest throughout the year. The festival is typically celebrated by wearing white clothes and coming together with friends and family to throw brightly colored powder and water at one another in a physical celebration of the arrival of spring.
“I always particularly enjoy the Holi celebrations because it gives me an opportunity to integrate my culture with college life and share it with my friends,” said Anisha Saddy, a sophomore studying human biology.
Participants dance and throw colors during the Holi Festival on Lee Fields, Sunday, April 2, 2017. Holi is a Hindu spring festival of colors typically celebrated in India and Nepal. Holi is hosted by Ektaa, Maitri at NCSU, Delta Sigma Iota, and Multicultural Student Affairs.
