Holi @ USC
By: Tamanna Sood ‘24
This last Saturday, a couple of my friends and I celebrated Holi at USC. It was my first Holi at USC and to be honest, the first one I ever celebrated outside of my hometown. Being a sophomore who spent her entire first year online, I didn’t really know what to expect from the event, but I knew I had to go! If you are looking at events you can’t miss at USC, know that Holi on McCarthy Quad is definitely one of them!
My friends and I after playing Holi!
I come from an Indian background and was raised Hindu so Holi is one of the festivals I look forward to most every year! If you don’t know what Holi is, it is the ancient Hindu festival that celebrates the beginning of Spring. It also celebrates the divine and eternal love of the two deities Radha and Krishna. It is celebrated as a big party where individuals throw colors at one another and is observed by Hindus, Sikhs, Jains, and many other religions across South Asia and the world. While the festival definitely has religious value, it not exclusionary and invites people of all backgrounds to join in the fun, as it did at USC!
This event was arranged by large Desi (a term referring to those of South Asian descent) including the AIS (Association of Indian Students) and USC Project Rishi, a social and service organization with the goals of helping villages in rural India. The event took place from 10 AM in the morning to until 2 PM in the afternoon.
Look at how many people showed up!
I arrived at the event around 12 OM with one of my close friends, Rumaisa Islam. This was Rumaisa’s first Holi and I was excited to teach her more about it. I thought that 12 OM would be a good time to reach the event, as I wasn’t expecting that many people to be there early on a Saturday, but I was delighted to be wrong. McCarthy Quad was filled with people already covered in various colors.
Rumaisa and I’s first goal was to secure ourselves some color. I highly recommend coming early and on time to make sure you get your hand on enough color and enjoy the festival to its fullest. The event put out bags of color on trays atop tables on the sides of the Quad, allowing people to dance and have fun in the middle, but easily come out to grab more color. However, by the time Rumaisa and I had gotten there, the first batch of color had been used, so we had to do some waiting.
Fortunately, we met up with a couple of our other friends who were kind enough to hand us some of their colors and started playing Holi. The custom is to start by wiping some color on the faces of your friends and family members, most often on their cheeks or forehead, and then say, “Happy Holi,” or “Holi Hai!”
The event also had a DJ who was playing pop and Bollywood songs and did a great job creating a festive spirit. AIS also surprised everyone there with a flashmob and did a 5 minute dance performance to some popular and classic Bollywood songs.
Holi at USC is an event like no other! If you missed it this year, don’t worry! But make sure to join the festivities next year!
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