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mixed media; holi holy
Happy Holi y’all!
Holi, or Phagwa as it is called in Trinidad, is a festival that is celebrated by Hindu communities worldwide as the arrival of Spring.
Also referred to as the “festival of colors,” and “festival of love,” many view the two-day observance as a celebration of self-expression and the reparation of broken relationships.
Maybe you’ve seen the pics?
Large groups of people reveling, celebrating life and throwing colored powder on each other – an absolutely breathtaking sight!
However, despite the brightly colored veil of happiness that is the rich Indian culture, there often exists untold sadness.
Below is a film by Bharat Sikka in partnership with designer Manish Arora that shows one aspect of this.
The clip celebrates the widows from Varanasi – the holiest of the seven sacred cities in India – who participated in Holi for the first time in 2013 and defied centuries of tradition.
Typically, widows in India were required to wear white clothing for the remainder of their lives after their husband’s passing. In 2013, this practice was amended and the widows were allowed to don colorful clothing.
This inspired Arora, who already had the idea of women’s rights in India playing on his mind, and so the collaboration featuring London-based singer Bishi Bhattacharya – in the leading role, took form.
“It is rather sad; how could someone not be allowed to touch color?”
I hope you all enjoy this operatic and eerily hypnotic short film as much as I did, and ruminate on your own ideas of self-expression, relationships, and being a voice to the voiceless.
Happy Holi.
xx
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