Author: Claudia Chow
The South Asian Students Association (SASA) will usher in the spring season with their annual Holi dinner, a celebration of the Hindu festival of colors, on Friday, April 5. Although the traditional throwing of color powder will not happen at this on-campus event, SASA hopes that all members of the Occidental community will be able to come together to celebrate the arrival of spring with traditional Indian food, Bollywood-style singing and dancing and a henna tattoo corner.
Unlike most Holi festivals, the event at Occidental will not involve the holiday’s signature natural or synthetic powder of various bright colors. At future Holi events, SASA hopes that they will be able to feature the festive powder. However, according to SASA President Utsav Patwardhan (senior), there are many administrative hurdles in getting approval to have color, since there are safety issues involved.
“Do we arrange an event that we can handle and make sure everyone has fun at, or go through all the liabilities and safety concerns to put on an event that we do not know how well it will go?” SASA Vice President Aliza Husain (senior) asked. “We want to establish SASA and make sure the event is well-established, and then expand it and make it more traditional.”
Assistant Dean of Students Tamara Rice is open to discussing having color at future Holi events.
“I definitely feel like we will have to talk about it, because I do want to make sure we do not permanently stain certain properties,” Rice said.”But I am open to seeing what it is about.”
The members of SASA hope that both students and faculty members will be able to attend, as they want to be able to create a feeling of unity at the event.
“We are trying to get the entire community involved, so we are not only extending our invitation to students, but to faculty and administration as well, so there is a chance for students to interact with them,” Husain said. “It is truly an Occidental community event.”
SASA is a club that is not limited to South Asian students, but open to anyone interested in South Asian culture.
“We watch Bollywood movies and cook together,” Patwardhan said. “We also put on different events, such as Diwali in the fall.”
The event will take place on Friday, April 5 from 6:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m. in Rangeview Courtyard. All students and faculty are welcome to attend this free event.
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