Residents of Roslindale reveled in an afternoon of vibrant colors, energetic dances and thumping music March 22 to celebrate Holi, a Hindu festival commonly known as the festival of colors. Hosted by Shanti, an Indian restaurant in Roslindale, attendees gathered in Adams Park to enjoy songs, food and merchandise.
Admission to the event was free. Colors and food were available upon purchase both online and at the event.
Moulika Sivalenka, a first-year computer science and business administration combined major at Northeastern University, attended the event because Northeastern’s Holi celebration sold out very quickly. She, along with a small group of undergraduate and graduate students from the university, said that it was an enjoyable alternative.
“I’m very excited to celebrate the festival of colors with my dear friends this year. I’ve never had a proper Holi before, so this might be my first time,” Sivalenka said. “I hope there’s really good Bollywood Holi music, because that’s such a vibe. Honestly, I’d also want there to be the water, because the colors mixing and then just becoming a mess is beautiful.”
For many, music is an essential part of Holi, and Shanti’s celebration featured tunes that could be heard from miles away. However, the dhol, a traditional Indian drum, took center stage after the speakers briefly stopped working.
Sudeep Chawla, the dhol player and star of the show, pulled everyone to the dance floor. He effortlessly played an instrument that usually weighs between 11 to 22 pounds.
Chawla started playing percussion instruments when he was three. He got his first dhol in 1999, at 26, and has been playing ever since.
“The dhol adds a different dimension of music,” Chawla said. “When you listen to music, you’re like, man, I wish the volume was higher, I wish the bass was higher, I wish the treble was higher. It’s another dimension of music that people just love to jive to.”
At the fair, stalls were set up on the perimeter of the park selling traditional South Asian clothes and jewelry. One stall was manned by Pervin Chowdhury, owner of Panache by Pervin. She sells sarees and jewelry from India and Bangladesh with 10% of her proceeds going to charity. She touched upon the importance of celebrating Holi within communities.
“It’s connecting people with each other and having fun. That’s what I think it’s all about,” Chowdhury said. “It’s important for all people here, nobody has families here, a lot of friends are back home.”
While Holi is a traditional Hindu celebration, people of various ethnicities, ages and religions attended the event. The only requirements were to dance, apply color and bond with community members, especially meaningful for those with loved ones halfway across the world.
“It gives you a little bit of taste of how you celebrate your religion, your culture and everything,” Chowdhury said. “I think that’s all that matters. That’s what [the people who attended the fair] are here for.”
