Celebrating Holi at W. P. Carey

Holi, one of the most colorful and photogenic of all Hindu cultural festivals, traditionally welcomes spring, asks for good harvests, and honors events in Hinduism. Each year, ASU’s Indian Student Association organizes a Holi celebration on the Tempe campus, and many W. P. Carey MBA students take time out of their busy schedules to join the fun.

Holi, one of the most colorful and photogenic of all Hindu cultural festivals, traditionally welcomes spring, asks for good harvests, and honors events in Hinduism. Each year, ASU’s Indian Student Association organizes a Holi celebration on the Tempe campus, and many W. P. Carey MBA students take time out of their busy schedules to join the fun.

Everyone got a feel for Indian culture and learned firsthand how Indians celebrate the festival of colors. There was dancing, a bonfire, and of course, gulaal — the colored powder participants throw on each other.

The ISA supplied all the gulaal and also served thandai (almond milk) throughout the day. The Holi celebration kicked off with students dancing to a medley of famous Bollywood songs.

The student turnout was great this year, with a lot of white shirts covered in gulaal to display as many colors as possible. Because this was our last Holi as W. P. Carey MBA students, we headed to one of our favorite Indian restaurants after the festivities for a dinner that made the day even more memorable.