Students celebrate cultural connections at UCLA Holi festival

Through dancing and participating in the Holi festival on Saturday, Naeha Lakshmanan found UCLA ties to a familiar culture.

The second-year microbiology, immunology and molecular genetics student performed at Holi at the Sunset Canyon Recreation Center on Saturday with the rest of her South Asian dance team. The team, UCLA Abhinaya, performed Bharatanatyam, a type of Indian cultural dance.

UCLA held its fifth annual Holi festival on the center’s lower lawn, organized by the Undergraduate Students Association Council’s General Representative 2 office, the Indian Student Union, the Hindu Students Association, the Global Connections Council, INDUS, Project RISHI and the UCLA On-Campus Housing Council.

The event hosted 1,500 students – 300 more than last year, said Sunny Singh, a USAC general representative.

Holi is a South Asian festival to commemorate the arrival of spring and return of good over evil, Singh said.

Lakshmanan, who is from Fremont but has family from India and Nepal, said the Holi celebration is a big deal for her family every year and that it is a way to enjoy family and relieve stress.

To celebrate Holi, students wore white shirts they coated with more than 500 pounds collectively of water-soluble colored powder.

As students shuffled into the seats before the event started, Punjabi music played. Abhinaya then performed, wearing colorful saris and bells around their ankles.

As bags of powder were distributed, students coated their hands in the powder and did the 8-clap before going onto the field and throwing the powder in the air.

The event was moved from the upper lawn to the lower lawn to accommodate the growing popularity and interest in the event, Singh said.

Many of the students participating had close cultural ties with the event.

Janki Mistry, a first-year physiological science student and Indian Student Union member, said coming to UCLA allowed her to meet individuals who share in her culture and celebrate meaningful festivals.

“This event celebrates the beginning of spring. It is really big in India and by doing it at UCLA, we are spreading an important aspect of the culture,” said Mistry, who is from the Central Valley but has been to India twice.

As students ran back and forth across the lawn, picking up packets of powder and hurling them at other participants, their once-white shirts became colorful combinations of blues, pinks, greens and more.

After she put the saris a safe distance away from the colored powder being thrown into the air, Lakshmanan said she quickly walked back down to the field, eager to join in the colorful celebration.

“Holi for me is a reminder of home. … It’s a time I celebrate with family and friends and in all the temples around us,” Lakshmanan said.