On March 14, the Hindu celebration Holi, also known as the celebration of colors, was celebrated in India, Nepal, and other parts of the world with a significant South Asian population. The Society of Asian Scientist and Engineers (SASE) at LSU hosted a social for everyone to feel included and harbor a home away from home.
“LSU is mainly a PWI (Predominantly White Institution). For SASE this is really that spot for everyone to engage in our cultures, you know be with ourselves. We also do a lot of personal development. Really helping Asian Americans pursue their dreams in the workforce. So I’m really glad we have this organization here on campus,” Greshma Shrestha, vice president of SASE, said.
Shrestha, who’s from Baton Rouge but has family from Nepal, says SASE is all about bringing a sense of community to LSU’s campus. Organizing this social event on the LSU parade grounds brought a sense of home to those who were not able to go back to India to celebrate.
“This is our very first Holi social here. It’s one of the very first times we’ve celebrated South Asian culture. It’s good to have that ability for South Asians to feel like they have that space here as well,” Shrestha said.
The celebration of Holi has a lot of history. One story is about the love between Radha and Krishna. Radha, a goddess who symbolizes love and devotion, had much fairer skin than her partner Krishna.
Krishna, who’s a major deity in Hinduism, explained to her that she can throw some powder on her face and change her complexion to whatever hue she wants.
“So it’s also that point of equality. That’s why they were throwing the powder around and that’s why we have the tradition of throwing the colorful powder. Kind of just like celebrating you know, having a lot of fun, unity and bringing everyone together,” Shrestha said.
The symbolism of the power of good over evil comes from the second story. King Hiranyakashipu’s son, Prahlad, wasn’t following his rule and instead following another major deity in Hinduism, Vishnu. The King sent his sister, Holika, to kill Prahlad because she possessed fire-resistant powers.
“So he wanted his sister to try and bring him somewhere and then she tried to light him on fire. That did not work, she died and he lived. So it’s showing the power of goodness over evil,” Shrestha said.
This celebration of Holi on the LSU parade grounds was open to everyone. Many active members of SASE and other LSU students who have never heard about this tradition came to celebrate.
Arushi Ghildiyal, who’s originally from Dallas but has family from North India, said that attending this event made her feel included and seen.
“I attend a lot of events but there isn’t really anything I would say, apart from what the Indian student association does that caters to I think South Asians or Indians at all. So this is like a nice little touch of something we do back in Dallas and India,” Ghildiyal said.
Whether you’re a student who’s far from home or just looking for somewhere to belong, LSU has many organizations that host events just like this one. Visit https://tigerlink.lsu.edu/home_login to find organizations that speak to you.
