The near-zero temperatures could not deter some 600 adults and children from celebrating Holi "The Festival of Colors", the way it is traditionally celebrated in India. The fun-filled event organized at the premises of Milan Restaurant and Banquet Halls in Shrewsbury on March 15th, was an IDRF fundraiser. While the participants had fun, they also had the satisfaction of knowing that their contribution was going to bring much needed succor to drought-hit victims of Rajasthan, India.

The event was co-sponsored by several area organizations. Milan restaurant provided delicious & fresh Indian food to all the participants. The event started with traditional Holi pooja and bhajans. Savitha Rajeev choreographed a Kolatta, a traditional folk dance from Karnataka, which was performed by children from Kannada Koota. Kavadi, a traditional folk dance from Tamilnadu ,choreographed by Ranjani Saigal was presented by children of the Eastern Rhythms dance school. "Mera Laungavacha" a traditional folk number from Punjab was choreographed and presented by Manasi Shinde, Vinisha Patel, Komal Patel and Amrita Saigal who are freshmen at Burlington High School. Ismail Kapadia delighted the audience with numbers from popular Hindi movies and patriotic songs.

The main attraction of this event was "Colors". The participants which included children,teenagers and adults sprayed each other with colors and danced to the tunes of "Rang Barse" and "Dola Re Dola". They braved the chilly weather to enjoy the color playing part of the event, for almost 2 hours. More than 75 pounds of different colors was sprayed. Many kids told the organizers that they had been looking forward to this event for a long time.

IDRF raised $4,400 from this event through food sales, event souvenir advertisements, and a nominal event entry fees of $5 per adult. IDRF will be sending $5,000 to Jodhpur Pensioners Hitkari Trust, a Rajasthan NGO which has undertaken the work of supplying water and fodder in drought-hit areas of Rajasthan. The state is reeling under the most severe drought in 100 years. According to government sources, 23, 406 villages in 26 of Rajasthan's 32 districts are badly affected by the drought.

Buoyed by the success of its events in the past, IDRF Boston will be organizing 3rd annual Six-a-side Cricket tournament in June-July. 56 teams took part in the Six-A-Side cricket tournament last year, helping IDRF raise more than $5,000.

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