Multicolour festival in multicultural Victoria

BY PREETI JABBAL

Emotions unfurled, vitality recharged, love renewed, fun indulged. The colourful swirls of Holi seemed to do all that and more for people in Melbourne as they gathered in Sandown Racecourse on February 28. Nature was not in sync with the reigning mood and the sky remained stubbornly cloudy, but that did nothing to dampen the spirits of the revellers as they continued their pursuit of hedonistic pleasures of eating, singing and dancing.

College De Munde, Honda Chalaonde the lyrics of this Punjabi song constantly resounded in my ears as my camera captured hundreds of munde and kudiyan as they danced and played. Massive speakers boomed with a great selection of songs by DJs Oorja and Richi Madan. Opposition leader Ted Baillieu and Labour MP Tony Lupton also joined in with a thumka or two. It was impossible not to be affected by all the joie de vivre.

Pink, red, green, purple - colours ran riot and so did the exuberance. As I braved the festival-filled atmosphere I was smothered in colour by complete strangers. It certainly wasn’t a festival for the shy and retiring. Luckily I am none of those, so it was easy to join in the fun. Holi used to be my favourite festival ‘back home’ in India but somehow over the past few years I had lost touch with the sheer joy of running amuck with colour.

for the dry cleaners and for the laundry,” joked Opposition leader Ted Baillieu as he briefly addressed the crowd. Both Tony and Ted (Labour and Liberal MPs) stressed on Victoria’s multiculturalism and what a great place it is to live in.

Multicolour festival in multicultural Victoria