On Tuesday, March 22nd, Volunteers Initiative Nepal gathered all volunteers in Thamel to celebrate the Holi festival, one of the most famous festivals in Nepal (and public holidays !) and part of the culture. Holi is a Hindu spring festival, which is also known as festival of colors or the festival of sharing love. It is an ancient Hindus festival which has become popular with non-Hindus in many parts of South Asia, as well as many people of other communities outside Asia. During this day Hindus attend a public bonfire, spray friends and family with colored powders and water, and generally go a bit wild on the streets. The central ritual of Holi is the throwing and applying of colored water and powders on friends, family and actually pretty much everyone you come across in the street, shouting « Happy Holi !» . The entire day is associated with a loosening of social restrictions of caste, sex, status, and age. Holi thus bridges social gaps and brings people together.
Early in the morning, Dinesh, The volunteer Manager with some other VIN staff, international and national volunteers, and Nepali friends, gathered at Premium in Thamel, and drank some milk tea, one of Nepal specialties. According to the instruction of volunteer management team, All the participants of Holi festvals had a white T-shirt for the occasion. Everyone prepared there for the day, gathering ammunitions from the stores nearby : colored powder, water, water pistols. We hadn’t even finished to prepare ourselves that we were attacked by a group of children, throwing at us the very things we were actually buying ! From this moment on and for the next couple of hours, the small plaza in front of the Hotel became an authentic war zone, everyone defending themselves against the « intruders », and the volunteers eventually turning on each other. Afterwards, we all went wandering around in the streets of Thamel, trying to dodge the buckets of water that Nepalis were throwing from their roof or balcony, and wishing a happy holi as many people as we could. During this wander, we joined and then were separated from many other groups of people, painting the faces of everyone we came across (even the dogs !).
Then came the moment of eating. We all went to celebrate Holi at the Electric Pagoda, which was throwing a special party for the occasion, with all the ingredients to make this day even crazier : good music and colored powder ready for use ! Therefore we danced for a few hours surrounded by a wild crowd. Next everyone split into small groups, some going back to their hotel, others heading for a bar, others even going to some school to celebrate with the kids. The rest just kept wandering in the streets, being even invited in ceremonies and other celebrations in small courtyards along the way to Durbar Square.
To sum up, it was a very special day for everbody, full of joy, encounteers and sharing that all will surely remember for a long time. Happy Holi !
Written By: Hadrien Hibert, Volunteer Management Team
Published on: 27 Mar 2016
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