Every year at the beginning of Spring, the peaceful surrounds of Cheoc Van beach come alive in a vibrant and joyous celebration of colour, music and dance, with Macau’s very own version of Holi Festival.
Holi is a Hindu festival predominantly celebrated in India, to announce the arrival of Spring, the blossoming of love and an invocation for a successful harvest season. In the Hindu tradition is also commemorates the eternal and divine love of the god Radha and Krishna, and the triumph of good over evil with the victory of Vishnu over the demon king Hiranyakashyap. The celebrations are characterised by participants playfully throwing coloured water and paint powder at each other, resulting in a whole lot of multicoloured fun.
“Holi is one of the most popular and significant festivals in Hinduism. For many, it is a festive day to meet others, play and laugh, forget and forgive, and even repair broken relationships,” explains Victor Kumar, the organise of the event in Macau. “Traditionally, people circled around a bonfire/pyre and performed Parikrama, so the heat coming from the bonfire would kill the bacteria in the body and cleanse it. Later, people used natural ingredients to make coloured powder to imitate fire, which can also help nurture the body and skin.”
Victor notes that the coloured paint used in the Macau festivities is imported directly from India and made from natural plant-based sources.
“Playing with the colours can actually help to rejuvenate the human body and have a healing effect. It has the effect of strengthening the ions in the body and adds health and beauty to it,” he says.
Victor established Holi Festival Macau in 2010, and every year it has grown in popularity, attracting participants of all ages from all walks of life. This year over 100 people gathered at the beach for the festivities.
“To offer participants various kinds of experiences, every year I collaborate with local artists/performers and international talents from all around the world, to create connections with other cultures and build bridges between people, and to create a sense of freedom, happiness and joy,” says Victor. “For many it’s a different and new kind of experience for them.”
Victor is a very familiar face in Macau, especially to anyone who has been involved in any of the various cultural festivals held around town. He arrived in Macau in 2008 and soon after established the Indian Culture Association of Macau, which is recognized by the Macau Government and was the first service provider and organizer of Indian themed events for the Indian community.
He also started his own dance and yoga studio, V Studio and Yoga Shala 853, as well as Macau’s first and only Bollywood Dance team VK & Bollywood Dreams Group.
“I started Yoga training at V Studio 10 years ago and brought many new and creative tools/props into our training and practices such as Aerial Hammocks, Wheels etc. I am glad to see that these have become so popular in Macau now. But I never stop, I have many ideas and new projects that I’m working on and want to bring these unique experiences to the locals.”
As for the local Indian community in Macau, Victor believes it will continue to grow in size, and of course there is a very large, multi-generational community just next door in Hong Kong. Victor hopes to involve more and more people in his events and clearly has a great passion and enthusiasm for what he does.
“‘Art is not what you see, it is what you feel.’ This is one of my favorite quotes. You have to create, experience and feel it for yourself. I really want to add colour to people’s lives. Holi Festival isn’t just about playing with coloured powder and having fun. It represents the idea that life is like a platform for putting together all our wishes and consciousness and then expressing these in our own ways as we live together in harmony. These colours, the beauty, pleasure and pain are life’s songs of creation. So for me, I want to paint the rest of my days with the best colours.”
@holifestivalmacau