On March 20 around 4 p.m, a group of about 10 Trinity students stood on Prassel lawn, setting up speakers, laying out packs of colorful powder and filling empty trash cans with water. They were members of Trinity’s South Asian Student Association (SASA), setting up for Holi, an annual South Asian festival.
Nirvan Pithadia, sophomore biochemistry and molecular biology double-major, is a SASA officer who helped put on the event. He took a break from setting out water guns to explain the festival’s significance. Holi is a major Hindu religious festival observed throughout South Asia, Pithadia said, where participants throw colored powder and water at one another. It’s a way to welcome the spring and celebrate new beginnings, he said..
While he always enjoys Holi, Pithadia said having the celebration at Trinity is particularly special to him. Here, Holi brings together a close-knit campus community, connecting both students and cultures. “Almost everyone here knows each other,” Pithadia said. “This is a great way to make new friends.”
At the event, SASA didn’t announce a universal call to begin the color fight. Instead, the colorful chaos built over time. One student opened a color packet to put in a friend’s hair, and more joined in, spraying each other with water guns and laughing as they tried to evade their pursuers. Half an hour later, the antics had escalated: Students were fully drenched with a mix of water and colors.
For those who didn’t want to brave the color powder, SASA had options to tie-dye white shirts, shoot their friends with water guns or feast on the samosas, chicken and mango juice boxes from the sidelines.
Sanayah Panicker, first-year psychology major, intended to avoid the action. Though she enjoyed the community aspect, she said she was less of a fan of the color powder.
Though she hoped to protect her clothes and hair from the powder, her friends changed that. Mid-interview, they doused Panicker in a mix of green and yellow despite her protests for pink and purple. “I guess now I’ve been colored. It’s really fun though. I’m having a good time, and I’m happy my friends are here too,” Panicker said.
Deven Kirpalani, junior geoscience major, described his first-ever Holi as “eclectic.” He decided to attend Holi after seeing it in the LeeRoy Daily Report. “Everyone needs to let loose, do silly things that we would have done as kids, and here’s a space to do it,” Kirpalani said.
Panicker echoed the welcome to SASA’s Holi. Though she had been to Holi celebrations before, Panicker said that she especially enjoyed the SASA Holi festival because of the variety of students it attracts.
“I feel like Holi is a very universal holiday that can be celebrated by anyone because it celebrates new beginnings, creativity and light,” Panicker said. “It’s just celebrating positivity, and I think anyone can do that.”
SASA holds its Holi celebration every year in March. Free and open to all students, Holi is an annual Trinity treasure for all students hoping to get outside, have some fun and experience an engaging cultural event.
*This article was updated on April 1, 2026.
