Oswego students from the university’s Residence Life and Housing office hosted an international holiday festival on March 24.

The event was celebrating Holi, which marks the beginning of the spring season.

Student Jigyasha Chataut, one of the organizers of the event, talked about the history of Holi and its significance.

“Holi is a festival mainly celebrated in South Asia,” Chataut said. “So in our country, we celebrate it to welcome the season of spring, and we have a story in a traditional way.”

Chataut talked about the traditional message behind the Holi festival.

“Holi is like the wind of good over evil, so the message for Holi is [that] good is always gonna win, no matter what, and evil and bad stuff are always gonna lose.”

The event was also celebrated as the festival of colors, where students threw colors at each other. Throwing colors represents symbolism of unity and joy, along with celebrating good over evil.

The festival is celebrated throughout India and Nepal, and travels through other regions. The celebrations are rooted from various stories in Hindu mythology and traditions.

One of the most famous stories of this festival is about two figures, Prahlada and Hiranyakashipu. In this, Prahalada was shielded by divine intervention from Hiranyakashipu, his father, over his evil actions.

Another story is about Lord Krishna, who is a major figure recognized as the god of protection, compassion, tenderness and love in Hinduism. In this, Krishna was known to celebrate the Holi festival by playing with colors with his devotees.

Each story has representation on the holiday itself, placing good over evil and symbolizes a significant event throughout Hinduism.

Chataut said that they would like to do more events like this in the future.

“I believe SUNY Oswego is a campus where there are people from different backgrounds, different diversity, [and] different cultures from different countries,” Chataut said. “So if we promote festivals from different countries, it will look [better] on our campus because it is a place where new identities, new problems, new events [and] everything is respected and accepted.”

The event was assisted in coordination with the east and west campus community councils. The main organizers were resident assistants, including Chataut, Vandanbhai Patel, Meet Patel, Ashmi Bagale, Bivushi Basnet and Rashika Simkhada.

Chataut said that they would like to host this event again and add more onto the event for next spring.

“We can collaborate with organizations like ASA to make it on a bigger scale,” Chataut said. “I will add on from this event to next year’s event, and I hope that it’s gonna be [better] than this.”

Chataut said that the event is also a learning experience for people who are interested in learning more about different cultures.

“The main motto of our event will always be [that] everybody can enjoy, everybody can have a sense of fostering, like everybody has, everybody can relate,” Chataut said. “No matter where they come from, no matter [if] they’re international, American, African, they can enjoy and they can learn about new traditions. That’s our goal for the event.”

As a resident assistant, Chataut said that they want to serve as a role model for residents and students.

“I believe I can contribute little to make this community [better], in a sense where everybody feels more comfortable, where everybody feels a sense of belonging, [and] where everyone feels they are being heard,” Chataut said.

Chataut said that with the event, they want everybody to feel welcomed into the campus community.

“Doing a Holi event like this is something great because every resident [is] coming,” Chataut said. “They are getting to know our culture, they are indulging in our culture, and they are enjoying their feeling, a sense of belonging because they are learning new parts of the culture.”

With the excitement surrounding this year’s festival, the group hopes to hold a great impact on the campus community. They are looking to hold another Holi festival for next year, and this will be celebrated on March 14. 

Photo by: Ryan Ravenell