Toowoomba Indian and Nepalese communities celebrate Holi, the festival of colours
In an explosion of colour and celebrations, the Indian and Nepalese communities across Toowoomba have come together with bright colours and joy, celebrating an ancient festival as one multicultural community.
Toowoomba
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More than 800 people turned up to the University of Southern Queensland on Saturday in an afternoon of dancing and paint throwing to celebrate the Indian and Nepalese festival of Holi.
Holi is celebrated in two distinct parts, firstly the burning of Holika, and secondly Rangwali Holi, also known as the Festival of Colours.
Toowoomba’s Holi festivities captured the essence of both aspects of the festival, with the symbolic burning of Holika, followed by the lively colours and joyous merriment of Rangwali Holi, one of the organisers, Yaju Mahida, said.
“For several years, we have aimed to organise a joint celebration, which finally materialised this year thanks to the support from the Nepalese Community,” he said.
“This collaboration has paved the way for future unified events, drawing on our shared Hindu heritage that spans centuries.”
UniSQ nursing student Don Thomas joined in the celebration, and said it was a “fun day” and a “stress buster” away from the pressure of studies.
Coming from south India in Kerala, he said his region didn’t commonly celebrate Holi, but he found the day was a “stress buster” between his study and placements.
He said he enjoyed how multicultural it was, bringing together the Nepalese, Indian and Australian communities.
“For me it was just about throwing colours, but for people in the northern parts of India and Nepal it is so much more than that,” he said.
Toowoomba’s Festival of Colours was jointly organised by Yaju Mahida and Jyoti Sachin (Indian Communities of Toowoomba), Dhiraj Dahal, Diwas Chapagain, and Sunil Chaudhary (Nepalese Association of Toowoomba) and Rikesh Shrestha (NATUSQ).
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