We Celebrated Holi

Though, this year (2009), the Holi festival falls on March 11, we celebrated it yesterday at Vedic Cultural Centre, commonly known as Arya Samaj (आर्य समाज), Markham. In Canada, most festivals are celebrated on weekends, and the holi was exception. As compared to the holi celebrations I witnessed in New Delhi during the earlier part of my life, the celebration in Vedic Cultural Centre was quite formal. People come to the centre in the evening dressed in their nice colourful dresses, as they are not worried that someone may spoil their dresses with Gulal (गुलाल) or water balloons. We bought tickets were seated in the banquet hall like basement of the Vedic Cultural Centre.

Ritu (Savita) and Shalini at the Holi Dinner

After light snack consisting of Chaat Paapri (चाट पापडी) and Idli (इडली), the children presented very good live entrainment. Here is a small 29 second clip from the Kathak dance.

The children's program was followed by bolloywood songs and dance, enjoyed by young as well as old generation. Here is a small 22 seconds video of people dancing on the floor.

We were served delicious dinner prepared by volunteers of the Vedic Cultural Centre. The quality of the food was better than that served in several Indian restaurants I have visited recently. In all, it was an evening worth remembering.