On Saturday, April 20, the South Asian Students Society (SASS) brought a celebration of Holi to Concord Academy’s community weekend. The celebration occurred at CA a couple of months after millions celebrated the holiday on its traditional date, which elapsed on the last day of the Hindu month of Phalguna. In the Gregorian calendar, the holiday took place at the end of March this year. SASS co-head Axel Kapoor ’25 explained that, by postponing the event well past its traditional time, SASS could increase turnout and the chance of nice weather. They were successful on both counts, even without the assistance of the Community and Equity office.
With Hindu origins, Holi is celebrated annually by millions across the Indian subcontinent and diaspora. The event has broadened from its religious origins to a celebration of light and color that engages all community members no matter class and religion. The holiday also marks the last full moon of winter, symbolizing both the coming of good over evil and the warmer weather that encroaches on India at this time. The tradition notably includes throwing pigments, traditionally natural but now often artificial, upon one another, with anyone on the street being fair game. The celebration also varies greatly by location; In Mathura, a city in the Uttar Pradesh state of northern India, Holi celebrates the love between the Hindu god Krishna and Rhada, while through the diaspora the holiday often serves as a means of cultural connection as opposed to means of religious storytelling.
Planning for Holi at CA commenced before March break, with the SASS co-heads—Avi Cariens ’25, Axel Kapoor ’25, Shriya Reddy ’25, and Ishaan Jain ’24—working in close collaboration with the affinity group’s faculty advisors, Topi Dasgupta P’25 and Neel Shah, to iron out all the details of the celebration. The group researched, ordered, and procured food from Guru the Caterer in Somerville, selected a date, and set up the event. In an interview with the Centipede, Kapoor highlighted the immense help that the faculty, both the affinity group advisors and those in the Student Life Office, offered.
Looking forward to next year’s celebration of Holi, Kapoor commented on the disparity in the number of boarders compared to day students. He hopes to get the event on the calendar sooner to secure the Friday night event slot and increase participation among day students. He mentioned that the support of CA’s Community and Equity Office during the planning process is something SASS would appreciate in the future, saying that, “Having someone to help facilitate [the organization of the event] would be super helpful.” This is particularly true for new co-heads, determining the points of contact and other details that go into establishing events could be challenging. Kapoor believes a re-organized student collaboration with the C&E office would ease this process.
Between rollover funds from previous years, fundraising by means of the fall’s Diwali celebration, and ordering strategically, SASS was able to reduce the student-facing cost of Holi, pricing food at seven dollars per portion. Between the lack of prohibitive cost of entry, pleasant weather, and the enticing nature of a color war, students on campus were drawn to the prospect of participation in the Holi celebration. Kapoor was pleased with how the event turned out, commenting on the success and openness of the celebration, “It’s a celebration of spring, of love—it’s a time to bring people together,” he said. In time for the warmer weather and spring community weekend on campus, SASS’s all-community celebration of Holi this year served as a success in the books of its participants and leaders; students gathered in community to celebrate with one another over food and bright, colorful play.