South Brunswick’s Indian diasporic community is celebrating Holi, the festival of colors

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At least 700 people are expected to attend Rang Barse 2024 on Saturday in South Brunswick Township.

The event at Woodlot Park, presented by the Hindu American Society of Central New Jersey, is celebrating Holi, a Hindu spring festival also known as the “Festival of Colors.”

“It celebrates the eternal and divine love of the deities, Radha and Krishna, those are the two Hindu God and Goddess,” said Deep Shukla, society co-founder and president. “Additionally the day signifies the triumph over good over evil.”

That is one narrative. Holi is celebrated in different parts of India and there are different lores surrounding its origin. The holiday also marks the beginning of spring and is an homage to the agricultural cycle, according to Dr. Vijay Satnarine, education director with the Hindu American Foundation.

“That’s the most ancient part of the festival, that then the layer about standing up to a tyrannical person,” said Satnarine, who added there is a third layer which he called “the fun part.”

“The part where there’s friendship, there’s camaraderie, there’s joking, there’s jostling, there is love, all of that features in the divine story.”

While the festival has a religious underpinning, the entire community is invited to experience it. Shukla describes it as “a mini version of National Night Out.” There will be cultural performances, DJs and “color play.”

Indo Caribbeans, Indo Fijians and Indo Mauritians were among the earliest to celebrate Holi in the U.S. But now, like Diwali — the festival of lights — Holi is becoming more mainstream and global.

“It’s a lot more ingrained in their cultural practices because they were taken by the British once emancipation happened,” said Satnarine. “They actually came over to those countries before the modern nation state of India was formed. And so for them Holi was deeply ingrained as part of their cultural and traditional practices.”

One of the biggest celebrations of Holi is in Spanish Fork, Utah. That event similarly includes live performances, DJs and “color play.”