Indian diaspora and Muscovites mark Holi Mela with traditional fanfare
Over 3,000 people gathered on March 20 at the Palace of Culture of the Gubkin Russian Oil and Gas State University in central Moscow to celebrate Holi Mela, the traditional Indian festival marking the arrival of the spring period every year, with elaborate programs that included trade fair, Indian dancing competition and other entertainment and relaxation events designed to make the day unforgettable for both the organizers and visitors.
Since immemorial times, the Holi Mela festival has been considered to be one of the holiest and most joyful traditional events in India. This year, the festival was held with its traditional pomp for the fifth time in Moscow. Irrespective of the visitors’ social status, everyone without an exception took an active part in all the elaborate programs laid down to mark the ancient ritual. According to tradition, all Indians on that day must smear one another other with different colors in such a way that by the end of the festival all the participants look practically the same. All the event guests are covered with such amounts of different paints that they ‘shine like flowers’ with different colors. When done like this, prosperity and success will be guaranteed for such people till the arrival of the next Holi Mela, the event organizers said.
"Our main aim was to bring together both Russians and members of the Indian community in Russia in a homely beautiful environment so as to develop mutual friendship and give everyone an opportunity to relax on the occasion of our traditional festivals.”
The highlight of the event was the conduction of the 5th All-Russia Indian Dance Competition. Out of hundreds of dancing groups from across Russia that initially applied for the contest, only ten groups made it to the final, where they entertained the jury and visitors for three hours of the competition. The competition jury members included famous celebrities from Russian culture, art and sports such as Alexander Pyatkov, Nikita Panfilov, Lada Panfilov, Vladimir Kulyak, a distinguished artist of the Russian Federation, and Andrei Smetanin, a master of sports. Others included Oleg Kozhemyakin, Pavel Novikov, Igor Omelchenko, Natalia Goncharov, honored with the People’s Actress title, and Nadezhda Rusina.
The Dancing Competition was declared opened by Sen. Alexander Pochinok, a member of the Russian Federation Council. Other VIP guests present at the occasion to congratulate both the event organizers and the prize winners in different categories of the competition included prominent Russian contemporary painter Nikas 
Safronov and popular TV hosts Nikolai Drozdov and Dmitry Kiselyov. The dancing competition winners were the Moscow-based Tarang and Chakkar studio and the Amarpali group from Tver.
By tradition, there was a trade fair in the hall of the Palace of Culture featuring goods from India, where willing visitors could buy bright Indian national ornaments and clothes, such as saris, elegant beads and jingling bracelets. For those thirsty and hungry, there were Indian eateries — cafes and restaurants — to quench their thirst and hunger, with local Indian delicacies being the most popular among the event visitors.
Commenting on the Holi Mela festival guest turnout and the results of the dance competition, Sammy Kotwani — the owner of Imperial Tailoring Co., a famous bespoke suits and accessories maker in Russia and CIS, and one of the organizers of the events — said he was glad at how the event went this year. “Our main aim in organizing such festival is to bring together both Russians and all members of the Indian community in Russia and give everyone an opportunity to relax in a homely beautiful environment, develop mutual relationship and friendship on the occasion of our traditional festivals,” he noted. “I hope now that with this festival spring will come to Moscow much faster. And, using this opportunity, I would like to thank everyone, who attended our festival this year.”
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