Holi or Phagwa (as known amongst Indo Fijians or Fiji Indians) is a very popular festival with its origins in India and is celebrated during the Indian Spring season. According to the Vedic calendar this falls the day after full moon (phagun purnima), which occurs around late February to early March according to the Christian calendar.

The start of the Indian spring season saw the harvesting of new crop and the welcoming of a new year. It also meant an increase in viral colds and fevers due to changes in weather. Hence originally people celebrated this festival by throwing coloured powder at each other, which consisted of medicinal herbs such as haldi, bilva, kumkum, neem and other herbs of medicinal value.

These days, Holi is celebrated in India in different ways with myths and legends added onto this festival. The celebrations and significance of this event also vary from state to state.

This year Holi was on the 3rd of March and was celebrated at the Vedic Centre in distinct Fiji style.

The celebrations this year included a one-hour program by the Gyan Deep Bhajan Mandali who presented “Chautaals” with Vedic flavour. “Chautaals” are folk songs sung in many parts of Fiji and are particularly sung during the Holi festival. The lively numbers sung by the Bhajan Mandali kept the audience entertained. There was even a “Chautaal” on the topic of Swami Dayanand Saraswati Ji.