The Curtin Hindu Club hosted the Holi festival this past Sunday, famous for generous barrages of dye which brought in more than just students, as members of the Indian diaspora from outside of the university joined in on the festivities.

President of the Curtin Hindu Club Hetvi Vyas said the club was founded last July and provides a medium for Hindu students to come together, socialise, and enjoy their time at Curtin.

“International students often find it challenging to connect with people because they don’t have that much time to make connections,” Hetvi says.

Yash Sheth has lived in Perth for over four year now. Photo: Andrew Williams.

Yash Sheth is just one of the attendees with no direct connection to Curtin who said he heard about the Holi event through a friend of a friend.

But “what is Holi?”, you might ask.

Based on Hindu myth, Holi is known as the festival of colours, love, and good overcoming evil.

Though the celebrations are mainly a playful cultural event and an excuse to dance, eat, and throw coloured water at strangers and friends in jest.

“Since we are away from home we miss the festivals like Holi, which is massive in India. We do it here to bring back memories and nostalgia,” Yash said.

Photo: Hevti Vyas.

The Curtin Hindu Club pulled out all the stops in the authenticity department, as the events was catered by members of the International Society of Krishna Consciousness, who volunteered their time to feed the attendees.

The ISKCon volunteers made extra food for attendees to take home for free. Photo: Andrew Williams.

Arvi Rengasamy is one of the volunteers from the ISKCon temple located in Kalamunda who said there was a lot of fun out here, but there is a spiritual element as well which was good to see in the younger generation.

He says, “Krishan devotees prefer food cooked in a pure state by people with good minds and good hearts.”

Keep an eye out for the next event on the Hindu calendar the CHC will be hosting. Navaratri falls in October this year and, according to Yash, involves dancing in a circle for several crazy hours.