My Kind of HOLI celebration!!

Celebrating the Festival of Colors aka Holi in the heart of Manhattan is one-of-a-kind treats. My first experience was back in 2011 and I was thrilled to be a part of it again. As the month of March came to a close and Spring was upon us, I knew what that meant...it's time for HOLI once more. As I made my way to Hammarskjold Park on 47th Street and 2nd Avenue, I saw faces covered with bright colors and heard Bhangra music. I knew I was close to NYC Bhangra's Holi Hai event. The park was beaming with people; people of all colors and ages, there to celebrate the arrival of Spring as one community. For a moment, I thought I was in India. 

While I searched the crowd for familiar faces, I realized where I was standing. I was amid a crowd of color smeared people looking "way too clean". I welcomed them with open arms and let them smear me with color as well as part of the celebration. 

It isn't Holi without some color!! Posing for a picture with my new friend, Patrina. 

My new friends and I stood in line and bought more color and took it to a new level of color explosion. Just look at us! We didn't spare anyone. 

:) What a colorful family: Patrina with her kids, Sachin and Sanjay :)

After we had enough rang on our faces, we moved through the crowd for some musical entertainment:

We saw performances of all our favorite songs, including the famous one from the movie Silsila called, "Rang Barse". NYC Bhangra did a great job of putting the whole event together. You know it’s a party, when they’re involved! Good job guys! Looking forward to making more colorful memories next year.

After the event, I met up with some other friends and we all headed down to my favorite Indian spot in Curry Hill called Chennai Garden. Their food is always amazing and finger licking good; try the Bhel Puri and Chole Batura. You won't be disappointed. A great way to end my weekend! 

Where Art Thou Spring?

Spring started 5 days ago? Really? It doesn't feel like it, especially since it's still snowing in some States. I'm so over this weather. I want to add some color to my wardrobe again; really feel like it's Spring. At least Holi (aka Festival of Colors) is just a couple days away, 3/27.

Holi is predominately celebrated in Northern India, but parts of the South (i.e. Telangana) also participate in the festivities. I was really small when we moved here, so I don't remember much. When asked about it, my mom had lots to share. She loved playing with her siblings and relatives.

The colors also included gold and silver, which were sometimes difficult to wash off. They used to smear so much on each other, that they couldn't recognize the relatives from one another. After playing, the parents bought sugar candy garlands for the kids and of course the kids were all smiles. My dad only celebrated Holi when he was in Kanpur (after marriage and living in the North). My parents visited their friends' houses and smeared color on each other. After the fun, they celebrated with good food, drinks and sweets especially Laddu. My mom told me eating Bhung laddu is popular too. I wonder where we can find those here? Our Holi memories story was shared in a post by Lassi With Lavina, check it out here.

Holi is more than just fun and games; it's about bringing people within a community closer together for one purpose - celebration of life and nature. 

I celebrated Holi for the 1st time in 2011 and I have to thank NYC Bhangra for that. They hosted this free event, Holi in New York City, with numerous dances, bands and food. It was a blast! Oh and the best part was all the colors! They distributed plates filled with colored powder for everyone to smear on each other like they do in India. People of all ages and backgrounds came together to celebrate the arrival of Spring. It was just magical!

If you are in New York City or live in the area, definitely stop by NYC Bhangra's free Holi event this upcoming weekend, March 31st from 12-6pm. It's being hosted at a park located at Dag Hammarskjold Plaza 47th St & 2nd Avenue New York, 10017. 

This Holi, Come, Spring Forward with me!! 

*~~*Spring Into Holi*~~*

Don't let a little snow and cold weather bring you down. Spring weather is just around the corner. Once I got back from my business trip last weekend, I was ready to party. I was so excited because Sunday, March 20th was an important day for me. It was the first time I would be celebrating Holi (Spring Festival) in New York City in over 15 years. Holi, "the festival of colors", is celebrated by people throwing colored powder and water on each other. Not even the cold temperatures would stand in my way!

In North India, people specifically wear white on this day so the color shows out more. The celebrations typically can be from 3-16 days. If I were in India, I would go out into the street and enjoy with all of my friends and family. Alas, NYC is not India, but it was close enough.

The Holi celebration was hosted by NYC Bhangra and it was a FREE event. It's nice to know there are still people out there following our culture and feel it's important to share with everyone. My friend Avaneesh and I drove into the city for the festivities and had the time of our lives. Even though we parked the car a few streets up from the park, we could hear all the hangama from where we were standing. I couldn't wait to join in the music, the people, and the colors. As we made our way to the festivities, we saw people with colorful faces walking out of the park with big smiles. The festival was full of surprises including an exciting performance by New York Masti, an all Indian Female A Capella group. Also there were various types of dance performances from Indian Classical to Bollywood, Flamenco and Bhangra. Here's a glimpse of one of the Bhangra performances.

For more fun sights and sounds, check out the video link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TBp1shv0xL8

During all the performances, the event's volunteers worked their way around the audience and smeared colors on people's faces. My friend Avaneesh got lucky and the girl with the colors just put a tikka on his face and walked away. I grabbed some color off the plate and smeared some on his face. HA! It's not Holi without color all over your clothes. Good thing he wore his old clothes.

He looks too happy in this picture, doesn't he? He grabbed the color I hid in my hands and smeared it all over my hair...hey, at least now I don't need to go to a salon for highlights.

We were having so much fun that we worked up an appetite and were so glad they served delicious Indian food for a minimal price: samosas, chaat, chole kulche, pani puri, wadaa pav, keema pav, biryani, masala chai and lots of sweets. It was truly an awesome day.

After the festival, we drove back and ate more goodies; the halwa I made for the holiday. In my our culture, we do two things on every holiday: wear new clothes and make something special for the occasion. You can't tell but I wore a new sweater and I made Sooji Halwa.

It was my first time making it and you know what, it came out pretty well. So from our family to yours, Happy Holi!!