Spring Arrives in Splash of Colors at Arcadia's Holi Festival

The eighth annual Holi festival hosted by the Hindu Temple and Heritage Foundation of Pasadena added a splash of color to on Saturday.

Hundreds of people of all ages showed up to take part in the Hindu celebration, commonly called the Festival of Colors, by dousing one another in perfumed pigments and water while enjoying song and dance amid the backdrop of the San Gabriel Mountains.

In the spirit of Holi, the free event was open to all. Revered by observers as a festival of unity, Holi is known as a time when social barriers such as status, age and gender are thrown aside and all are unified by brilliant hues, said event organizer Mohna Manihar.

“It’s been around thousands of years,” Manihar said. “After winter everyone comes together to celebrate the new colors of spring.”

Featuring friendly water fights, spontaneous smudging of colors and an impromptu drum circle, the festival was enjoyed by a record number of people this year, said organizer Asha Khosla, who estimated attendance at 300, compared to last year’s count of between 200-250 attendees.

“Every year, it’s just increasing,” Khosla said. “We were scared we would run out of food.”

A full vegetarian meal greeted patrons for donations only. Vibrant magenta, orange, indigo, teal and crimson powders were available for 50 cents per cup, as well as water cannons priced $10 a piece. One of many who greeted guests with an anointment of hue on the cheeck and forehead, Anita Modi admitted a main attraction of the event was not the eon-old celebratory dousing of colorful powders, but rather water, and lots of it.

“It’s good to wear white for the colors,” she advised. “But the water is the best part.”

Espousing an atmosphere of playful, if not slightly mischevious fun, the festival of colors stems from a more serious past.

Holi History

“This is a victory of good over evil,” said Jagdish Varma, secretary of the HTHF, as he related a story of an ancient king who thought he was a god.

When King Hiranyakashyap ordered that everyone worship him as a god, his own son Prahlad, a devotee of the Hindu god Vishnu, stood up to him. Needless to say, the power-hungry ruler didn’t appreciate his son’s opinion.

“So, he wanted to have his son killed,” Varma said. “He ordered him to be burnt alive.”

The king then enlisted the help of his sister, Holika, after whom the celebration is named. According to legend, she possesed a power that rendered her indestructible, even by fire. The king instructed her to hold his son as they sat upon a pyre and were doused by flames. Amazingly, however, the son survived the fiery onslaught while Holika was burned.

“It represents a victory of the divinity of God overcoming the pride of the king,” Varma said.

Throughout its long history, it has also taken on a lighter spirit.

“It’s a celebration of springtime, that’s why there’s all the colors,” Varma said. “This way everyone can come together.”

He added that it’s also the time of year when many Indian farmers harvest their crops and therefore come together to celebrate the harvest. In fact, the colors come from natural plants that promote healing, many of them originating within the India’s largest state, Rajasthan, located in northern India, where some of the most elaborate Holi celebrations take place.

"The spring season, during which the weather changes, is believed to cause viral fever and cold," Manihar said. "The playful throwing of natural colored powders has a medicinal significance. The colors were traditionally made of Neem, Kumkum, Haldi, Bilva and other medicinal herbs prescribed by Āyurvedic doctors."

All colors for Holi were once made from natural resources. Saffron came from the flowers of Palash or 'Flame of the Forest' and marigold were sources for yellow/orange, pinks and reds came from roses, indigo was the source of blue, Manihar said.

Colors ay=t the festival were provided by HTHF, a non-profit organization that runs the Pasadena Hindu Temple at 676 S. Rosemead Blvd. in Pasadena. In addition to celebrating Indian and Hindu festivals, the temple also promotes the preservation of Indian heritage by offering Hindi language and dance classes for children and adults.