Diplomats, Russian stars and Bollywood celebrities grace India’s Holi in Moscow
Top diplomats and influential local politicians as well as popular First TV Channel Animals’ world program host Nikolai Drozdov, famous glamour painter Nikas Safronov and Bollywood star celebrities, actresses Sakshi Gulati and Shipra Hazana, were among the over 4,500 visitors that graced this year’s Indian Holi Festival on March 14 at the event’s traditional venue in the main hall of the Russian State Gubkin Oil and Gas University in southwestern Moscow. Specifically, the ambassadors of Nigeria, Uganda, Congo, Namibia, Israel, Mauritius and Bosnia & Herzegovina were among the high-ranking foreign diplomatic corpus dignitaries at the event.
With few exceptions, most visitors and all the Indians at the event were painted from heads to toes with different colors, one of the most noticeable symbols of the Indian spring festival. Indeed, at the end of the day, almost everybody looked the same as the abundance of paints used for decorating people’s faces and clothes merged into a single color, thus signifying unity among different people, the event organizers said. “Holi is not only a spring festival, but also a festival of equality, as it represents one of those few moments, when all Indians forget about their castes, as everyone mingles with one another, painting, dancing and glorifying gods together like equals.”
The essence of the event
Explaining the significance of the abundant colors used at the festival, Sammy Kotwani — the owner and CEO of The Imperial Tailoring Co., who also doubles as the president of the Indian Business Alliance and chairman of the event’s Organizing Committee — said the colorations nullify the differences in individuals, as they make everyone look alike. “When all paints are mixed, all colors turn into one. For instance, those with a white-skinned color are not seen differently from those with a black-skinned color. It is as if everybody is the same. This is the main essence of Holi, making everyone look the similar.”
“Holi is not only a spring festival, but also a festival of equality, as it represents one of those few moments, when Indians forget about their castes, as they mingle with one another, painting and dancing together like equals.”
Kotwani also specifically noted that none of the event’s numerous guests that are acquainted with Indian traditions has ever been annoyed by being sprayed with different colors or having their best outing suits and dresses turned into rainbow colors during the festival. “This is because they know that such clothes painted in all colors of the rainbow, according to Indian traditional beliefs, will bring success and prosperity to their owners,” he added, whilst explaining the significance of the festival and its color attributes to uninitiated visitors. “Our Holi is the equivalent of Russia’s Maslenitsa festival, as Indians also burn the effigy of the Holika demon as a sign of the victory of good over evil and non-belief in supernatural powers.”
Guests’ reactions and impressions
The guests, as usual, were thrilled by the event’s highlight, the Indian traditional dances competition in three categories, which featured the ‘best of the best’ among Russian and Ukrainian Indian dance professionals. The first prize was an ‘all-inclusive,’ seven-day tour to India for nine persons, the first and second runners-up received an all-inclusive seven-day tour to India for six and three persons, respectively, while the dancing group that came fourth got the audience’s sympathy prize.
Summarizing for the guests, Drozdov, an avid traveler, said he had seen this event several times during his trips to India, but the March 14 event was the first time he had seen the famous colors festival in the Russian capital. “The impact was outstanding, as I felt like a little kid at a children festival of peace, love and happiness.” Similarly, equally impressed by was Safronov, who called the event dominated by painting and colors a personal festival. “This is a special event for me, because, as a painter, I’m much at home with colors and paints, the highlights of this event,” he noted, adding, that it is painters that really know the essence and importance of colors. ”
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