Travel Photo Diary: India’s Holi Festival of Colours

May 22, 2015

Embracing a colourful life

What does it feel like to have coloured powder caked in your hair, stain your clothes, clog your ears and stuck between your teeth? It’s magical. This year, we were fortunate to head on a ME to WE Trip to India during one the country’s most popular festivals: Holi.

The Holi festival is about happiness, renewal and celebrates the beginning of spring. This sentiment carries over into all aspects of life, celebrating the joy and happiness of all things NEW and even the renewal of relationships. It was this feeling that rang true most with our group as we bonded through the experience, deepening our friendship on a whole new level!

When we joined the crowd for the first night of the festival—called Fire Holi because of the burning of straw structures and fireworks in the city square—we saw it as a unique chance to meet locals and learn more about the Indian culture. Everyone was incredibly friendly and eager to explain the rituals and myths behind the festival.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The second day of the festival is called Play Holi and was definitely our most favourite. We purchased bags of colour from market stalls and joined the crowd again. Smearing colour on strangers’ faces was a bit out of the norm for us, but the mood was fun and we quickly found it easy to exchange a few Hindi phrases mixed with English.

Our group ventured through the streets, dipping our hands in the powder and covering anyone we encountered with colour—mostly each other! At one point, we all grabbed arms and said how incredible it was—we were in India, thousands of miles from home and on an adventure of a lifetime together. It was a moment we would never forget.

 

The crowd at the base of the temple looked as though a rainbow had showered all over them. Everywhere we looked was plastered with colour—streets, cars, cows and more! It made us realize how amazing it would be to experience this all the time, and we wanted to bring this world of colour and excitement into our lives at home. We promised each other we would continue to honour our friendships when we returned to North America and spread this new sense of vibrancy everywhere.

No one wears colour quite as well as this cow, a scared animal in India.

 

 

Our wanderlust spirit was definitely sparked in India and we’re so excited to connect with more amazing cultures on another ME to WE Trip! Interested in joining the ride? Find out more!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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