Celebrating the city’s diverse cultures

There was nothing typical about last Sunday where about 1200 people in Dar es Salaam gathered to celebrate Holi, also known as the Festival of Colours.

It is a traditional Hindu festival which celebrates the victory of good over evil and the beginning of spring. It was an out-of-the-ordinary day for those who convened to play Holi.

People chased each other around the premises of Golden Tulip Hotel, the host of the holi party dubbed ColorFest, armed with packets of dry powdered paint and splattering random people from head to toe in colours of blue, pink, red, yellow, purple, orange, green, black and silver. It was a day of laughter, fun, celebrating diversity and unity. The idea was to come dressed in white and leave coloured.

Although the festival originates in India, it is widely celebrated in many countries all over the world, even in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania. Along with throwing coloured powder and paint, people come together to dance and sing, enjoy cultural performances and traditional Indian cuisine.

For many it was a first-time experience celebrating Holi while for others it was a ritual. Ms Sachak tells Life&Style that she has never seen anything like it in her life but it isn’t the first time she hears about the festival.

“I am aware about Holi through media and of course movies but it was my first time to ever be part of it. I came with a group of friends and family and we just had a good time. It was madness and fun. We forgot about all our stresses in life and just enjoyed celebrating it with strangers. I mean even a stranger became a friend, and that’s the true spirit of playing Holi,” says Ms Sachak.

But for Tasneem Mussaji it wasn’t the first time. Her roots are from India and Holi festival brought back nostalgic childhood memories. In an interview with Life&Style, Mrs Mussaji says, “Holi is one of the most colourful Indian festivals celebrated all over the world. Never in my dreams had I imagined celebrating this festival in Tanzania. Attending the Holi party last Sunday made me nostalgic of the time I celebrated it back home. The ambience, the music, and the people enjoying their time by throwing colours on one another was precisely how it’s celebrated in India, the only thing missing was the ‘dhol’ (a double-sided Indian drum).”

She adds, “During Holi, in India you find people running on the streets with colours in their hands and splattering random people with it from head to toe. You cannot find a single person who’s clean and not drenched with colour on that day. On this day even strangers become friends. My friends and I always gathered at a friend’s house or the community centre to play Holi before going on the roads to bombard strangers with colours. I am glad I attended the fest and relived those memories again.”

Traditionally, Holi is a spring festival and also an ancient Hindu Religious Festival celebrated in India annually. The festival signifies the arrival of spring, the end of winter, the blossoming of love, and for many a festive day to meet others, play and laugh, forget and forgive, and repair broken relationships. The festival also celebrates the beginning of a good spring harvest season.

One of the organisers who preferred anonymity tells Life&Style that Holi celebrations start on the night before Holi where people gather, perform religious rituals in front of the bonfire, and pray that their internal evil be destroyed in the fire. The next morning is celebrated as Rangwali (colourful) Holi – a free-for-all festival of colours, where people smear each other with colours and drench each other.

The vibrancy of colours is something that brings in a lot of positivity in our lives and Holi being the festival of colours is actually a day worth rejoicing. The festival of colours teaches humankind to transcend above the caste and creed. It is a festival to forget old grievances and meeting others with great warmth and high spirit.

The traditional and religious Holi Festival is held annually at the Temple Street, Kisutu in Dar-es-Salaam, where the bonfire is lit, prayers are offered and thereafter followed by smearing of colours to symbolise love, happiness and joy across all ages.

“With the above festival in mind, communities and entities such as Golden Tulip Hotel, Indian Culture Centre and this year many others such as Sunrise Beach Resort & Rotary have held the festival with various terms to it - From Holi Festival, Holi Bash, Rang Barse etc. These Festivals are not just limited to Dar-es-Salaam, but communities and entities celebrate in cities like Arusha and Mwanza as well,” the organiser adds.

Urban Vibes, a group of Holi enthusiasts conceptualised a unique approach to the colour festival by working hand in hand with communities such as Patel Samaj and now more recently with Golden Tulip Hotel in hosting this year’s ColorFest. Holi is typically held on the Sunday after the Traditional Holi Festival.

It was an atmosphere of social merriment, every nook and corner presented a colourful sight. Young and old alike were covered with colours. People came from small groups to sing and dance to big family groups to throw colours on each other. There were different food stalls of Indian delicacies and food for children such as pizza, popcorn, ice-creams. Children also enjoyed various activities like face-painting.

Ms Madan, also one of the participants who attended the Holi came with her infant to celebrate the festival of colours. She tells Life&Style that she witnessed people coming together from across all ages and walks of life. She came in white but left as a peacock. “My brother tagged along with me and helped to babysit my seven-month-old baby. My friend and I were greeted with colours the moment we set foot on the grounds. From blues to yellows, I was soaked with every colour you can name. Despite religion or creed, everyone was welcome. It was my first time experiencing this and I must say it is something that I am looking forward to next year. The vibe, music, people, festival and everything in it was just an experience on its own,” Ms Madan shares.

It was the fourth edition of ColourFest and from the first one held to the very recent one, the crowd has been growing bigger and diverse. This is simply attributed to the strong Tanzanian Culture as well - Tanzanians are warm, jovial and peaceful people. To make merry and celebrate in groups is something that is seen across not just Hindus but other sects as well.

“A Tanzanian can be a Hindu, Muslim or Christian - yet one is seen celebrating Diwali, Idd, Easter and Christmas. Along similar lines, Holi can be celebrated by one and all. A testament of this is easily seen from the growing popularity and attendance, from a few hundred to now thousands,” coins one of the organisers.

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