Children grab the various powders to throw at the Holi Festival. | BRIAN NELSON / THE TEMPLE NEWS
On March 21, Penn Museum held its annual Holi Festival, a Hindu celebration of the arrival of spring, bringing together various communities through vibrant colors, music, fellowship and joy. The event commenced at 11 a.m. with a welcome ceremony and katha storytelling session hosted by Viji Rao.
“Bring the joy, remove all kinds of bad things that are there in life,” said Rao, organizer and internationally acclaimed Bharatanatyam dance artist, choreographer, educator and curator from Northeast Philadelphia.
Viji Rao teaches during the storytelling session of the Holi Festival. | BRIAN NELSON / THE TEMPLE NEWS
Attendees gathered in the Widener Auditorium for a lesson on the origins of Holi, where they explored how storytelling can be expressed through hand gestures, facial expression and rhythmic motion.
A dancer from the Three Aksha Dance Ensemble during a dance number. | BRIAN NELSON / THE TEMPLE NEWS
“I had a student years ago, he was Indian so the preschool celebrated, but I only knew a little bit but now that I’m here today, I’ll have more insight,” said Janelle Rosales, occupational therapist in the Philadelphia School District.
In the group dining hall, families were welcomed to make Holi art using paint, pastels and paper in all shades of the rainbow. The upper-level attendees were encouraged to browse and shop from a select group of vendors selling attire from traditional Indian sarees, bags and accessories—all either handmade or imported from Southern Asia.
Attendees handprint at the Holi Art Making station. | AIDAN GALLO / THE TEMPLE NEWS
“I wanted to be a part of this initiative immediately because this is something that goes beyond just my number of sales,” said Vigna Jallipalli, a vendor from Exton, Pennsylvania who sold handmade and eco-friendly products at the event.
The Samudra musical performance unfolded in the Harrison Auditorium where youth from the Philadelphia suburbs took the stage to showcase their talents through traditional Indian melodies and sonnets.
Participants gather and laugh after the color throw. | BRIAN NELSON / THE TEMPLE NEWS
These rising harmonies and intricate rhythms carried the audience through a vibrant, almost meditative soundscape and ushered them into the next movement of the celebration: a performance by the Three Aksha Dance Ensemble who danced Bharatanatyam, a classical jazz fusion Indian dance.
The day concluded with the attendees tossing color powder, culturally known as gulal, into the air.
Participants in the color throw laugh together after the toss. | BRIAN NELSON / THE TEMPLE NEWS
“I feel like a lot of people don’t have that connection with our culture, so I think it’s very important to spread it,” said Lakshya Jaikumar, a third-year biomedical engineering student at Penn State.