Holi, the "Festival of Colors", is one of the most popular of Indian Festivals. In a country with more cultural diversity than all of Europe, Holi is a day when family, friends and community come together in a spirit of love, friendship, faith and festivity by smearing colors on one another. Holi is always celebrated in the Spring (Phalgun) season. Several significant events took place in Vedic history during this period. Two of these stand out as the most popular ones.

The first event was the survival of the young boy, Prahalad by the saving grace of Lord Vishnu. Prahalad's evil aunt, Holika who tried to burn him in a fire was consumed by the flames while he escaped unhurt. This is a celebration of the victory of good over evil and the triumph of unshakable faith in the divine Lord. The second event of significance was that Sri Sri Radha Krishna (the Divine Couple) and Their cohorts played together in Braj Mandal, Bharat, by smearing everyone with colors.

Thanks to a Herculean effort Mrs Rupa Shukla and other members of the Vaishnava Academy, a subsidiary of the Vrindavana Preservation Society (VPS), the Holi Mahotsava Festival at the Quincy High School on Saturday, March 15, 2003 was a roaring success. It showcased several facets of Indian culture including devotional songs, a traditional Indian folk dance and a play. The finale of the show was the 'ceremonial Holi play' where all attendees of the show smeared colors on each other, in a festive and gala celebration. Another highlight of the program was the delicious free vegetarian dinner, a contribution from the families that are part of VPS.

Mrs. Anju Singh was the master of ceremonies for the event. The opening act of the program featured Bhajans from the rich voices of Mrs. Madhuri Kulkarni and her husband, Mr. Narendra Kulkarni. They were accompanied on Tabla, by Mr. Bharat Patel, and Subhankar Choudhury.

This event was followed by a very informative slide presentation by Mr. Dennis Kelly, on the Vrindavana Preservation Society (VPS). VPS, a non-profit organization, has chapters in India and in USA. Its main goals are to raise awareness of Vedic culture and tradition, and to preserve the holy city of Vrindavan. Sri Sri Radha Krishna lived in Vrindavan, which is situated 60 miles away from New Delhi on the banks of the river Yamuna. Mr. Kelly presented the issues that confront the preservation of Vrindavan, such as pollution and globalization. The VPS chapter in USA has raised $27,500 in fund towards the preserving of Vrindavan. Mr. Kelly also displayed several slides with photographs from the meetings of Vaisnava Academy at Quincy, MA featuring Bhajans, Yoga and dance classes for adults and children. For more information on VPS, see www.vps-international.org.

Following this was a Bhajan lead by Mr. Keshav Shukla. The stage was a joyous scene with Sri Sri Radha Krishna surrounded by charming children and tiny tots posing as Gopis and Gopikas.

The highlight of the program was a spectacular play based on the origin of the Holi festival. This story of Holi is the story of Prahalad, a young boy and a fervent devotee of the supreme God, Vishnu. Prahalad is the son of the evil tyrannical demon Hiranyakashipu. Hiranyakashipu appoints himself the sole ruler of the universe and commits numerous atrocities on earth and in the heavens. He is ultimately vanquished by Narasingha, an incarnation of Lord Vishnu.

The driving force behind the play was the director of the program, Mr. Raghuram Shetty (Raghuramji), a veteran of Indian Theater and a master of Yakshagana, a traditional dance from Southern India. Raghuramji himself played the part of Hiranyakashipu, displaying his tremendous acting and dancing abilities. Mr. Dennis Kelly played Narada, the celestial sage. The part of Hiranyakashipu's queen, Kayadu was played excellently by Mrs. Jyothi Shetty. A talented youngster, Nishad Kulkarni played the part of Prahalad. Other noteworthy performances came from Mrs. Jayashree Chandrasekhar, Mr. Arun Chaudhari and several participating children. Mr. Venkata Dayanandan (Venkatji), another versatile member of Vaisnava Academy, played Narasingha. Venkatji also composed and presented spectacular background music for the play, mixing tunes and rolls of the Tabla, appropriate to each situation of the play.

The next event of the evening was a colorful stick dance featuring Sri Sri Radha Krishna and Gopikas, performed by several adults, boys and girls belonging to Vaisnava Academy. Radha Shukla and Kanika Rajiv played the roles of the Lord Krishna and the beautiful Sri Radharani. The event ended in a blaze of Holi colors and festivity. This event was followed by traditional Holi celebration and Garba (Stick dancing) and smearing of colors at the School Gymnasium.

Over five hundred people attended the Holi Mahotsava celebration. Clearly, this is only a preview of more glorious contributions to come from VPS whose members continue to strive to bring about an awareness of the riches of Vedic culture and its timeless spiritual values.

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