Mexicali founder Pete Erskine and his son Caleb were just in India for Holi, the annual festival of colors! Holi proclaims the end of winter, and rejoices in the coming bounty of the Spring harvest season. It is also a celebration of color and community–a chance to set differences aside and just have FUN! The most boisterous of Hindu festivals, people most notably celebrate by throwing water and brightly colored powder (called gulal) at each other, creating a rainbow of radiant revelers everywhere you look!
Though Holi lasts for three days, most of the action is condensed into one raucous final day. The night before, huge bonfires are lit in the streets of towns and cities and effigies of the demon Holika are burned, symbolizing the triumph of good over evil. If cheerful rainbow colors and smiles are any indication, we’d say ‘good’ is the winner!
Here are a few favorite photos from Pete and Caleb’s Holi adventure, festively celebrating the coming of spring with many merry colors and good cheer! The people in the photo are the very first suppliers and artisans we connected with in India, who to this day create all the traditional block print that is done for our tapestries, curtains, bags, etc. You can see a video of their printing process right here. The whole Erskine family has visited and known them since the children of both families have been small. As you can see by the photos, they all are still very good friends and the children still play together even though they are much older! What a wonderful thing it is to have long-lasting friendships with awesome people–one of those beautiful things that makes us very grateful to be alive and doing what we do!
The post Mexicali Travels: Holi, The Festival of Colors in India appeared first on Mexicali Blues Blog.
