Happy Phagwah from New York!
[ 15 March 2010 ]
Last Sunday, Chloe, Krysti & I made our way out to Ozone Park in Queens to celebrate Holi (होली)!
What is Holi? It’s a spring festival celebrated by Hindus, Buddhists & Sikhs. While it’s primarily celebrated in India, Nepal & Sri Lanka, it also goes on in places where there are large communities of Hindus, Buddhists or Sikhs.
Holi is a festival of radiance (Teja) in the universe. During this festival, different waves of radiance traverse the universe, thereby creating various colours that nourish and complement the function of respective elements in the atmosphere. (Wikipedia)
Holi lasts 16 days & is celebrated on the last full moon of winter, usually at the end of February or start of March. It’s a way of marking the beginning of spring. The major part of Holi consists of people throwing coloured powder (Gulal) at one another! Everyone carries brightly coloured powder in pouches & small jars, fill super soakers with purple dye & brandish bottles of baby powder. The bright colours are said to signify life, energy & joy. Traditionally, Āyurvedic medicinal herbs like Neem & Bilva were used to colour the powder, which helped ward off colds & flu!
Primarily, Phagwah is a commemoration of the triumph of good over evil. It is traced back to the tradition of the demon king Hiranyakasyapu who tried to kill his own son, the prince named Prahlad, but Lord Vishnu’s blessings saved the boy each time. Eventually, Hiranyakasyapu’s sister Holika (from whose name the word ‘Holi’ derives) attempted to kill the boy by taking him along into fire. Holika who herself was immune to burning. The fire burned down Holika to ashes and Prahlad came out, safe and sound.
Phagwah is also associated with other religious traditions. For example, it is associated with the opening of god Siva’s third eye and the consequent end of Kamadeva, the god of erotic love. Also related to Phagwah is the story of Dhundhi, the invincible ogress who teased the children in the kingdom of Prithu. She was made to flee the kingdom by the shouts, noise, and pranks of the kingdom’s mischievous kids. In addition, Holi is also associated with the tradition of the eternal love of Krishna and Radha. (The Bustle of Phagwah)
I don’t remember when I first heard about Holi, but I do remember seeing photos of it years ago, & knew it was something I had to do! Experiencing Holi in India is something I definitely have to do before I die, so when I found out that Holi was celebrated in New York, I didn’t have to be told twice! I immediately told Chloe & we made plans to go.
In Queens, New York, a parade — which contains floats & groups of drummers — snakes its way along the street, before ending up at a park where everyone goes crazy slinging coloured powder about! Not content to just stand on the side of the road & watch, we snuck under a barricade to join the revelers!
While traditionally people wear white to Holi, most people were just wearing jeans & hoodies. I wore a full-length white dress from Forever 21, a purple sweater from Gap & a jacket from H&M.
There is no better way to cast off the grey of winter than literally covering yourself in bright colours. It was an incredible experience, almost transcendent — I felt as if I was soaking up beauty & joy & optimism, absorbing it through my skin.
We had such an amazing time. Everyone was so friendly & welcoming & sweet. We got lots of hugs & so many people gave us huge smiles before smearing a stripe of magenta, royal blue, deep purple or lime green across our faces! People were going ballistic throwing baby powder all over one another — it was like a perpetual dust storm in front of us. Families walked around together, their faces stained purple with dye.
I haven’t done something which made me feel so alive in such a long time. Everyone looked so beautiful covered in colour, & I felt beautiful too. When I got back to Manhattan, I walked from the West Village to the East Village, bedaubed with pink, purple, orange, blue, purple & green, beaming at people who didn’t know what to think! I didn’t want to wash it off… My normally white hair still has some pastel staining & I love it.
Have you ever been to a Holi celebration? Would you like to go?
Photos (except for the last one) by (who else?) Chloe Rice. 
Extras For Experts:
Angel wrote about her Holi obsession here!
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Wow that sounds amazing! I would so love to participate in something like that :)
This is so rad! A truly amazing way to celebrate spring!
Plus I loved the song you used in the video, what is it?
Thanks, and happy spring!
This really sounds like my kind of thing! I love the picture of the cops too lol… such buzzkill expressions. Looks like you had a wonderful time… Is the dye permanent on clothing? Because if so your white dress must be really freakin’ radiant!!
Amazing! Other cultures have such magnificent festivals and ways of celebrating. Reminds me of the Songkran Water festival in Thailand, or La Tomatina in Spain. It sounds really beautiful! x
I saw photos years ago & this definitely something I plan to do, hopefully next year!
I dated a Hindu man for over a year, and this was one of my favorite of his traditions. I was told that with the brightly colored powder, that it was renewing my spirit for a year. It was a magical experience.
Diwali is also a beautiful holiday . Thank you for recognizing the beauty in foreign religions.
xo
I think thus far this is without a doubt my favorite thing posted on Galadarling.com… ever.
You + Chloe = AWESOME.
This looks like an amazing time, Gala, I’m jealous!
You look like glamorous zombies!
I’m hoping to move to the city this summer and these photos made me cross my fingers for NYC even more.
I am DYING to celebrate Holi in India!! I’m also totally jealous, had I known this was going on I would have hopped a train to Queens ahh!
Oh my gosh! Happy Holi and Phagwah to you too! You guys look so amazing and happy. Imagine, this is the color of Happy. Man, I wish we had this in Manila too!
I have to go – an acquaintance always sends me event invites to one he does, and I always forget! It looks like a lovely experience!
oh what FUN!!! must do that someday :)
Ahh, this is something I want to do as well! It sounds magnificent and so happy and vibrant! And you look good in all those colours!
This looks so amazing!! Thanks for sharing what looked like a blast!!! I’m sure we all wished to be there with you :)
When I lived in India this was quite a lot of fun, except that we didn´t go out in the streets, since the men often drank and went out of control. Us girls played in the courtyards, or on roofs of the houses. I wish we had colours with Neem and stuff, unfortunately most of the colours in India are really toxic. Everyone had skin rashes for a week afterwards. Using mud or furniture / metal paint was also not uncommon. In the end everyone was black, not colourful (since mostly wet colours are used and they all get mixed in the end) and on top of that being painted with silver made you look like an alien…
Those were crazy times…I first learned about Holi last spring, and really want to go! Now that I know there are smaller celebrations in the much-more-accessible places near home, I will definitely be going!
This looks so beautiful/awesome :) The idea of celebrating the colors of Spring by having them flung in your face is very intriguing…
omg this looks insane and beautiful!!! and i would have loved being on that subway platform with you haha
oh, i used to celebrate this when i still lived in suriname! i always liked it. but i was a lot younger then & all we usually did to celebrate was run around the yard with friends & family, throwing the coloured powder & dye on each other. sometimes we went to the bigger celebrations in the city.
glad to hear you enjoyed it so much :] now i feel like celebrating it again…
I was in Varanasi for Holi a couple of years ago but we left early to avoid it. Like someone above me said, it’s mainly celebrated by men in India and it is often an excuse to get drunk and rowdy. I actually spent the day crossing the border into Nepal, and it was fun but the perfect excuse for men to stick their hands down your top in the name of Holi! My passport still bears scars from that day!
How cool, it’s like you’re all of the rainbow race! I wish I could celebrate, I’ll defenitly have to next year I never knew about such a HOLIday!
That sounds AMAZING. I wish I could have celebrated. I definitely have to get to a Holi celebration sometime.
I’m not religious in the slightest nor have I ever heard of this festival but it sounds and looks fabulous. Such a great way to celebrate life in general I think. Have to go sometime!
wow, the pictures are so full of life and joy and…colour:) I would love to celebrate Holi, too and have heard about it some years ago. I’m not a religious person but eastern religions seem to be so joyful. Thanks for posting this!
kisses
I never knew about Holi until you posted these photos, so thanks for sharing! This is definitely something I’d want to do.
Hindus have all the fun!
Wow, that event sounds absolutely AMAZING! Definitely adding it to my ‘things-I-must-try’ list!
P.S. This is off-topic, but Chloe looks incredible as a brunette!
I hadn’t heard of it before it looks so amazing. I definitely want to go in the future.
I got super-excited and started googling Phagwah pictures, but then I found this comment on someone’s flicker page:
“Holi always looks like so much fun but I want to point out something few seem to consider.
Think about all the unnecessary chemicals that are going into our ground, into our water, and into our bodies! Come on people, WAKE UP! Avoid spreading these chemicals around!
Dangerous chemicals and metals found in Holi powdered dyes include chromium, nickel, and cadmium. The red sometimes contains highly toxic mercuric sulfate. And ophthalmologists warn revelers to keep an eye out for green, which frequently is made of copper sulfate, which is capable of causing puffiness and even temporary blindness.
Green: Copper sulphate – This could cause various types of eye irritations or even temporary blindness
Purple: Chromium iodide – This chemical causes allergies and bronchial asthma
Silver: Aluminum bromide – Aluminum bromide is Carcinogenic. Very dangerous…
Black: Lead oxide – Renal Failure, Learning disabilities.
Shiny colors: Powdered glass added to the colors
Red: Mercury Sulphite – Skin cancer, Minamata disease (mental retardation, paralysis, impaired vision…)
Fluorescent colors: Rhodamine-B (a toxic chemical compound that causes cancer)
Dry colors or “gulals” have two components -a colorant which is toxic and a base which could either be asbestos or silica, both of which are capable of causing health hazards. While silica may dry as well as chap the skin, asbestos which is a known human carcinogen gets built up in the body tissue.
The major constituent of the colorants in gulals are mostly heavy metals that are known systemic toxins. These heavy metals not only get deposited in the kidneys, liver and bones but are also capable of disrupting the metabolic functions.
Breathing these chemicals in, swallowing them, or getting them in your eyes can’t be good for you.”
www.flickr.com/photos/radiate2…
Thoughts?
I wrote a post about this last year when I first discovered it! I’ve been dying to find a celebration to go to. There’s some places you can order the powders (and instructions on how to make the natural versions of the powders… real holi colors aren’t toxic), so if I don’t find one, I’ll have to throw a party and have a color fight!
i love love the video – like someone else though i’d love to know what the music is?
so colourful and amazing :) looks like so much fun! xxx
The track is by Enduser, off Bollywood Breaks! xo
How beautiful and uplifting!
Have i attended? no.
Would i like to attend? yes.
I did, however, attend a Lakshmi puja a few years ago and it was wonderful…absolutely wonderful…
i’ve beeeen dyiiiiiing to do this since i first heard of holi someday i will
i will i will
I just got back from a three week holiday in India (primarily Rajasthan) & playing Holi in Jaipur was definitely the highlight! The day before Holi is the Elephant Festival, which is when elephants get the chance to play Holi (it’s so cute). They also burn bonfires all around the city to signify the burning of Holika; it’s mad – there are fires everywhere.
Wow, what an amazingly beautiful festival! Love all the colours, they’re amaze.
iliketweet.blogspot.com/
x
I haven’t even heard about that until this year, it makes sense though because last week was awesome (fun burst of energy through the universe?). That’s a really great idea for a party too, getting nontoxic paint to throw on each other. I’ll have to try it since none of the Holi festivals or anything like that go on around here.
That sounds like so much fun! I would definitely love to go.
होली Holi ~ Festival of Colors
Celebrate Holi even if you can’t make it to a festival! By wearing bright colors that welcome spring in the atmosphere you too can bring loads of energy and joy to others. With this look you can do the same any day of the year!
www.polyvore.com/%E0%A4%B9%E0%...
kinda like paintball on the street! that looks fun xD
ah that’s so awesome that you got to celebrate Holi! I just learned about it in my Religions of India class a couple of weeks ago and watched a whole video of how they celebrate it in India! It looks so cool and so fun! So glad you got to experience it— one day I’ll definitely join in the festivities myself in NYC =)
wow Gala this really makes me want to celebrate Holi again. In India we used to have this huge gathering of everyone from our apartment building and get soaked by this massive hose while everyone threw the colour around. And then we’d all sit together and eat sweets. It was AWESOME!! Auckland’s a bit dull holi-wise.
this is beautiful. I hope I can find a Holli celebration next year.
Resplendent!
PHAGWAH! So wonderful, so variegated! I’m excited you wrote about this wonderful holiday, it’s always been one of my absolute favourite things ever.
Cool photos!
So since you’re doing SXSW, did you see the !panel of the century! about DEVO The Internet & You? What’s your thoughts? I’ve been a DEVO groupie since I was small and thought that all they did was “Whip It,” haha, I’d be interested in the deets on that panel, as someone who has to go to a lame office every damn day instead of fun conferences. :\
beautiful pictures my sweet
I need to find a local place that has a Holi celebration. It looks like an amazing time.
I am from India and the festival of Holi is just so much fun..!we get up early in the morning and meet up at a friends farmhouse..all of us carry our water squirters known as ‘Pitchkaari’ and squirt each other with coloured water.once we are all wet, we rub colour on each others faces making sure not a single spot is left! we divide ourselves into teams and throw water ballons at each other..after the balloon fight is over we dunk each other into the pool…its super super fun! Gala you should totally come to India for the next Holi!
1. I am totally jealous, and 2. those photos are breathtaking!!!
What an inspiring concept, sounds amazing!! Definatley something I will add to my things to do before I die list!!
holi is SO fun. i always see it in movies, but i’ve never actually played it before! all my friends do it though!
great post!
x.
amanda
amandalee-x.blogspot.com
I have always wanted to do that! Your photos rock speshly the 1st one I am so envyous of you finding a way to do that without going to India it’s deffinatly on my list of things to do befor I die! :D
Holy cow looks like a rainbow just vomited up on everybody :)
Hey!...looks like you had a great time.
Im from India and the pictures youve got seem so much tamer than the celebrations here. As someone pointed out earlier, celebrations do get rough around here. Its the one day you are legally allowed to consume ‘bhang’, a derivative of marijuana. Its quite crazy since they mix it up in milk, batter fried vegetables and all kinds of stuff. people go ballistic!
Plus its true that the colours you find popularly are made of toxic chemicals, and whole gallons of water go waste (while playing as well as the numerous baths people have to try and wash off the colours!).
I’ve stopped playing holi for the past 12 years or so (Im 21 :P) for the same reasons.
But it always makes me smile looking at people going crazy.
This looks like SO much fun.
All the colours are so pretty. Ahh, I wish I was there x
I work in Perth, Australia as a chef, and we have Indian work experience girls who all came in casual dress for that day, with very bright colours,i just thought that was how they dressed outside of work haha. Now i realise what was going on i wish i had time to ask them more about what the deal was :)
Big Boston has stunning photos of carnivals from all over the world: bit.ly/bPHVOp
What software did you use to do your video?
That is beautiful. Looks like fun.
That saturation of those pigments in these images is just so fantastic! I’ve always wanted to do this… now I want to even more! Awesome!
I had never heard of this before but I’m intrigued! You really do look beautiful like this. A new make-up trend perhaps? :D
XOXO
HA!
I didn’t know you like Enduser!
He’s one of my best friend :)
My husband is Indian and I have always thought that the celebration looks like such fun, both the throwing around of the pigments and the way people look afterward. :)
I was lucky that I experienced my first Holi when we were living in India last year…what a wonderful experience that was. However, I know a lot of my friends dreaded walking home because they’d be pelted with the (as I called them) the “dreaded balls of colored powder”.
I made sure that I didn’t step out on that day because I didn’t have any clothes that I deemed junky enough to get colored powder all over them. ;) I’m girl like that.
When my husband came home from work, he was absolutely covered in powder. I’d share the link to the picture, but I can’t seem to find it. eh.
Anyway, glad you enjoyed Holi! :)
Your pics are awesome! I am going to make sure I make it to a holi celebration :)
Holi is so so cool! I took part in it at Berkeley a couple years back and it was one of the most fun things I’ve ever done! I still have the white shirt I wore all tinged green pink and orange. Danke for spreading the word about this rad holiday : )
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