Indian-Americans celebrate Holi with fervour

Indian-Americans in and around Houston join their fellow countrymen to celebrate Holi.

Houston: Indian diaspora`s deep-rooted bonding with its rich cultural heritage was uniquely displayed once again when hundreds of Indian-Americans in and around Houston joining their follow countrymen to celebrate the colourful festival of Holi.

Taking a break from their humdrum life for one afternoon, people gathered on Saturday to cherish the colourful moments of the festival with an intention to bring about a feeling of brotherhood and harmony. Day-long celebrations were held in Rosenberg in Fortbend County and in Alden Bridge Park in The Woodlands, here to mark the "Festival of Colours", that commemorates the arrival of Spring and the end of winter hardships. Soaked in a variety of colours, ecstatic crowd came out with uniques ways of celebrating the festival, ranging from foot-tapping dances to the tunes of famous Bollywood numbers and feasting on traditional Indian delicacies apart from lighting bonfires and wishing a "Happy Holi" to each other. An obvious frenzy was seen among the teenagers, excited and thrilled to play colours and joined equally by the amazed, yet enthusiast group of Americans. Some adult Indian-Americans were also seen explaining the significance of the festival to the younger ones on this occasion. "When you come to a Holi festival, you have to be colourful and happy and have fun," an adult said with a smile. "It brings out in the kid in you, you want to be in the outdoors and have all the colours and everything," said a young mother of two small kids, adding that the day takes her back to home in India with a sense of nostalgia. Elaborate arrangements were made by the administration as separate areas were allotted for playing colours. PTI