During the MMS program, I’ve been exposed to different cultures, since many of my classmates are international. Recently, some of my friends from India included me in one of their traditional celebrations. Being teammates with Siddharth Singh, and living right next to fellow blogger Anu Kumar and Pallavi Somani, I could not believe that I had not yet been to one of their interesting and exotic Hindu events. It was long overdue. So my first Hindu experience was Holi—the Festival of Colors, but Fuqua Style! As far as I know, Holi is one of the major Hindu holidays, celebrated on the Full Moon Day in the month of Phalgun, which is March. It might be celebrated in different fashions across the country, but the spirit is similar — to celebrate spring, harvests, and happiness.

Our Holi event was organized by Fuqua MBA students and promoted on Facebook. Sid warned me that by the end of Holi I would be a giant, colorful mess, so I was mentally prepared. But still, I was a little concerned when I saw Maryam Mazhar and Nur Karatoprak covering themselves with oil, and Tim Smith and Ty Multhaup filling up water balloons.

After a little tasting of Indian food, the Holi event started with festive music at Levine Science Research Center (LSRC) on a beautiful Saturday afternoon. In a surprisingly short time everyone was covered in colorful powder — violets, greens, magentas, blues, and more. Everyone was having fun dyeing each other from head to toe, shooting water guns and throwing water balloons. If anyone, even people you don’t know, threw colored powder at you, you were just supposed to say “thank you” — it’s a celebration! Embrace it!