Color War

[Guest guest]

Below is an article printed in the Provo Daily Herald on the morning of the

Holi/Gaura Purnima Festival

Provo Daily HeraldSaturday March 18th

COLOR WARSby

Ashley Banks

Forget paintballing. If you're looking for a less painful and

perhaps more spiritual way to attack your friends with paint, head to the

Festival of Colors at the Krishna Temple in Spanish Fork today.

Holi, the

festival of colors, started in india about 5,000 years ago and has been held

annually ever since. The festival celebrates the arrival of spring and the

passing of winter with the throwing of colors, a unique demonstration where

attendees throw and smear colored powder on each other.

Participants, whether

they're local Krishnas or community members, will be covered in red, green,

yellow, blue, gold and silver powder, symbolizing the colors of spring.

Caru

Das, festival coordinator, said that many people enjoy this part of the

festival because it's such a psychological release.

"For a few hours, people

get a break from themselves...There's tension that builds up between ethnic

groups, different backgrounds, and different skin colors. There's always that

underlying suspicion that because someone looks different from me, they may do

me harm," he said. "On a day like this you realize that everybody's the same.

It doesn't matter what color they are, or if they are multi colored."

Taylorsville resident Julie Stock, 42, attended last year's festival with their

teen age children, and she said they plan on taking extended family members and

friends of her children this year because it was so much fun.

"We all danced

as a family and had some clean, crazy good family fun together," she said.

Salt

Lake City stockbroker Shree Sharma has attended Holi in Spanish Fork every year

since it started in 1998. He said he keeps coming back year after year because

it brings him back to his roots and reminds him of India. He says it brings him

back to reality, when he's reminded that we are all equal.

"This is the only

time that you're not rich, you're not poor, you're all on the same plane. Even

if you're a king, a servant, or a pauper, you're all equal," he said.

Each

year, attendance at the Festival of Colors nearly doubles. Das said they packed

3,000 bags of colored powder this year and they hope it will be enough.

Although the colors supplied by the temple do not harm the skin or stain

clothing, guests are cautioned not to wear their "Saturday best."

And if you'd

rather watch the pandemonium than be a part of it, you can stay indoors and

watch from the windows or the second floor verandah, which Das said about 20

per cent of the attendees do.

The festival will begin with the screening of the

film, "The Golden Avatar, the LIfe and Times of Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu."

Holi

will also feature a bathing ceremony for Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu, India's

greatest incarnation. Lord Chaitanya's pastimes will be narrated and the live

play, "Haridas and the Harlot," will dramatize the devotion of Lord Chaitanya's

followers.

Besides the throwing of colors, attendees can also enjoy classical

Indian dance selections presented by teenage performers from Salt Lake City.

The lighting of a giant bonfire and the burning of an effigy of the demoness

Holika will signal the beginning of the color war.

Das said he isn't worried

about the weather because the huge bonfire puts out a lot of heat.

"We've had

it in the past in all kinds of weather. One year we had it in the middle of a

snowstorm," he said. "But if you're anywhere within 75 feet of the bonfire,

you're nice and toasty."

Live mantra rock music will be played during the

throwing of the colors and dancing will continue for a couple of hours, Das

said.

All throughout the event, a hot vegetarian buffet featuring authentic

Indian food will be available.

Sharma said that most people go to the festival

because it's a time when they can forget all their troubles and enjoy

themselves.

"There's only one language spoken at that time, and that's

happiness," he said.

Stock said the festival will offer attendees a bonding

experience and "just some really good fun."

"You leave with a good feeling.

You meet new people, and you all just dance and bond together while the colors

are being thrown on each other," she said. "I think it's important to be

exposed to other people's beliefs and ideas. It promotes tolerance and

understanding within a community."

Das agreed, saying that the differences in

people are nullified for a few hours when participants become multi colored.

"All of that basically becomes irrelevant when you're all red, green, and blue.

(The festival) emphasizes commonalities, when everyone looks the same, when

everyone looks basically ridiculous."