Indians take festival of colours to Hope Gardens

Hundreds of Jamaicans were splashed with a variety of brightly coloured dye as they gathered at Hope Royal Botanical Gardens on March 12 to celebrate Holi - the Indian festival of colours.

Holi, an annual Hindu festival is celebrated to honour the arrival of spring, as well as love, fertility and renewal. It was brought to Jamaica by Indians when they first arrived in the country as indentured labourers in 1845.

India's High Commissioner to Jamaica Rungsung Masakui said he was happy with the large turnout at the festival.

"We are very happy. It is so good and people are happy running around, and we are all full of colours," he said.

The high commissioner said that Holi is the celebration of "our friendship and family bonds and a celebration of life".

"When you throw colours to other people you are throwing goodness, you are throwing kindness, you are throwing life, so you just don't put colours on one person, you put colours to many people... . It is about the sharing of happiness," he said, in explaining the significance of adorning persons with coloured powder.

Masakui said that the Indian community looks forward to the celebration of Holi, which took place this year on March 8, according to the Hindu calendar.

"We decided to celebrate it on [March 12] when persons from the Jamaican community could come and celebrate with us," he pointed out.

He said that the event, which is usually held at India House, the official residence of the Indian High Commissioner, was moved to Hope Gardens to accommodate more people.

"India House cannot take more than 300 people, so we thought we would make it possible for everyone to come out and participate," he noted.

The India-Jamaica Friendship Garden at Hope Gardens serves as a symbol of the long-standing relations between India and Jamaica. It was officially inaugurated on May 16, 2022 by the president of the Republic of India, Ram Nath Kovind, when he was in Jamaica on a four-day state visit.

Kerry Ann Watson, who had colours on her face and clothes, said she enjoyed the event even though she was not prepared for the colourful festival.

"It is the first time I am coming. It looks exciting with all the colours. Next time I will know what to wear. It is fun with everybody greeting each other with the colours," she said, adding that "it was exciting to see aspects of the Indian culture portrayed with music and traditional dresses and food."

Another patron, Twila Wheelan, who was also a first-timer, expressed admiration for the festival.

"Holi is a true demonstration of our diversity and the beauty of togetherness. I wish we had more events like it in Jamaica on a larger scale to foster cultural exchange. I loved getting coloured, and I can't wait for the next staging," she said.