People were a little vague about what to wear to Holi. Some people said white. Others said whatever color you wanted. Some said definitely not white, because water balloons were to be involved, and white and water balloons don't mix well. All of them however, seemed to agree that what you wore to Holi should be something you weren't going to be heart broken about losing, breaking, or (most likely of all) staining. After experiencing the festivities for myself, my advice would be to wear whatever you want but not to plan on wearing it ever again.

All of your clothes will end up looking like this but not as organized (more splotchy).

http://blog.lsc.edu/wave/files/2008/10/tie-dye.jpg

Oh, and also not to plan on having your natural hair color back until you've washed it about 50 million times. (My hair is still pink).

With my pink hair, I could be mistaken for a bald, wig-wearing Britney Spears!

http://backseatcuddler.com/wp-content/uploads/2007/10/britneyrtn16110_468x394.jpg

This is Holi, UT style: You stand out in the middle of the 6 pack in your never-t-be-worn-again clothes. The day is beautiful, the weather is perfect, and you're about to be attacked by the rainbow, powder edition. It was this sort of mad rush to get the raaj too. They passed it out in rounds, and people basically pounced on the little plastic baggies to make sure they had something to throw at the friends (and strangers, actually) around them. I, personally, had a connection (thanks Samyu!) who hooked me up with my own little bag of orange, which I promptly used to UT-ify the unsuspecting people around me. But there was really no need to aim at anyone. There were SO MANY people there, brown and otherwise, that you could basically hit people just by throwing the powder in the air.

http://www.gordon.edu/images/galleries/4_holi_powder_2007_02_23_11_24_30.jpg

I was talking to Samyu about it later, and she was explaining how for each Hindu Student Council's events, they have a different set of the population that they target, and a different way of advertising for it. For the big festivals, like Holi and Navratri, the downplay the religious aspect and up-play the festivities. For Navratri, it was "Come see the fireworks!", and for Holi it was "Come throw colored powder at your friends!", targeted at anyone and everyone. However there was a concert that night (completely separate from Holi) in which and Indian band had been invited to sing, that had only really been advertised to the Indian UT population, mostly because they are the only ones who would know of the band.

So, I was trying to figure out how I felt about this whole concept of select advertising, and what the implications of it were. Is it practical? Heck to the yes. The group gets maximum attendance and conserves its resources by strategically advertising to people who will actually come in ways that make them feel comfortable coming. Basically what this means is that here at UT, its very easy to get a taste of other cultures, However, to really experience them at a deeper level, I think you need to go out of your way and literally seek out what cultural activities this campus has to offer, as well as make a huge effort to understand what is behind these activities. Navratri isn’t just about fireworks, and Holi isn’t just about colored powder. And I really do believe that seeking out these activities can make you a more well-rounded, accepting person. Its kind of how we meditate in P3, we had the option to use our sympathetic imagination and see the world through another’s eyes. I feel like being exposed to and participating in other culture’s activities can be compared to that act of sympathetic imagination. In both instances, you’re sort of putting yourself out of your comfort zone and trying to experience how others view and live in this world, something I think is very rewarding.