Holi Festival: Hindus invite Geraldton community to celebrate

People smeared and bombed each other with brightly coloured powders followed by water as Geraldton’s Hindus and their friends celebrated the religious festival Holi at Pages Beach on Sunday.

The Mid West Indian Cultural Society organised the event.

Committee member Hari KumarKurupath Sathyanath said it was a “very joyous and colourful” occasion.

“We have had closed events in peoples’ homes but this is the first time we opened it up to the general community,” he said.

“There were people from all walks of life, including Aboriginal people who wanted to learn more about other cultures.

“It would not have been the success it was without the participation of the wider community.”

Holi is an ancient festival celebrating the triumph of good over evil, the love of the goddess Radha for Krishna, and the coming of spring in the northern hemisphere.

It is a time when friendships are renewed, grievances put aside and wrongs forgiven.

Holi is celebrated in various South and South East Asian countries, in India, and wherever Indian people have settled.

Dr Sathyanath, committee members Sunny Khanna, Raghav Gwarliorkar and Amar Srivastav; and Nepali community member Prakash Neupane thanked the wider Geraldton multicultural community for participating in this inaugural gathering.