Holi Malaysia 2019 - Colours Bringing Cultures Together.

Have you heard of an event called Holi Malaysia? Well, my friends—Vim, Kavitha, Sharan, Richie, and Alysha—and I were at a fun-in-the-sun event with 8000 other participants in Kuala Lumpur, an event organised by Perfect Plan. Yes, it was called Holi Malaysia 2019. The event’s theme this year was ‘Colours Bringing Cultures Together’.

Holi Malaysia 2019 at  KL Sentral - All of us!

What is Holi?

Here are some fun facts on Holi. Holi is a spring festival. It originated in the Indian subcontinent and is still observed there today. However, the excitement and colours of Holi have become widespread, and the festival is celebrated in many other parts of the world as well, like here in Malaysia.

Holi celebration signifies the following:

• The victory of good over evil
• The arrival of spring season
• A chance to forgive and repair broken relationships
• Thanksgiving for a good harvest

How is Holi Celebrated?

Briefly, Holi is celebrated for one night and one day. The celebration on the night before is called Holika Dahan. In India, it’s tradition for people of the community to gather and pray for the good of all. The next day is called Rangwali Holi, a free-for-all festival of colours where people smear each other with coloured water or powder. 

The celebration recognises each person as equal—rich or poor, young or old, man or woman.

@ KLSentral

Holi Celebrations in Malaysia

During the recent Rangwali Holi festival in Kuala Lumpur we attended, each participant was given a packet of colour-powder for the same reason—to smear powder on others!

This is how we celebrate Holi in Malaysia

First, make sure you have purchased a ticket and cleared security; otherwise, this friendly guy won't let you in.

Hello, please show me your tickets and remember to have fun

We wanted to get a shot of our clean selves before we got smeared. But looks like a passerby at the entrance didn’t think that was necessary. He smeared green-powder on Vim and Kavi before we could get a picture.

Holi Malaysia 2019: Our first picture for the day (with almost-clean faces)

Let the celebrations begin! 

Warming up

We warmed up to the sun with shades of pink, red, orange, green, blue, purple, and yellow powder. It was just like holding a rainbow in our hands!

‘They need more’, we heard a few others say as they passed by us, and they sprinkled some red and green on us. We responded to them with our own red and orange. That was just the beginning…. The powder attacks followed not too long after.

The day was not only about throwing coloured powder. There were lots of games and entertainment. A few lucky ones won prizes as well. There were also a couple of eye-catching performances by talented performers.

Entertainment at the venue

Sharan, Richie, and Alysha joined us soon after for some more action.

Cool Colours

Cool Colours

There were lots of light snacks sold at the venue. We had some pani-poories and cold soda.

Pani Poori, a small snack

This event was for everyone. Looking at this guy below, I am sure you would agree that there is no age limit.

No age limit., but ohh that heat!

This event also attracted a lot people from different parts of the world.

We are one!

Do we look like Smurfs or Avatars?

Ohh...what happened?

Soon it was time to say goodbye. We did have a good time, didn’t we?

Bring your shades

Bring your shades

I did not get any coffee at the venue. So, here is one from a local cafe, not too far away from KL Sentral. The barista made my coffee strong that morning, so I was awake all night.

My coffee for the day

‘Colours Bringing Cultures Together.’ I couldn’t agree more. I felt no boundaries today. The red, green, blue, orange, and purples united us in a loud, unspoken language. Crossing borders and uniting through colours…

Just like at Holi celebrations, may we always add colours of goodness to the lives of everyone we meet. May they add the same to ours. Counting Stars, Reaching Delphi.