Hindu YUVA, University of Washington

Holi – the Indian festival of colors. The sheer name of this festival brings into mind a splash of colurs. So, when Hindu YUVA, UW decided to organize Holi celebrations for the first time, it had to be special. A flood of colors that Seattle’s grey skies has never experienced. An addition to the American red, blue and white. An event full of enthusiasm, joy, wonderful colors and some delicious food. Can you expect anything more? Oh yes you can. The event was organized at the Golden Gardens beach in Seattle. We decided to hold our weekly gathering – shakha at the beach too. We played some traditional Indian games like kabaddi and kho-kho. Playing these games on the beach sand made them all the more fun. We decided to light up some real holi fire near the beach. The lighting up of the holi fire turned out to be a good idea given the cold seattle weather. 
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As planned we decided to have our social event at the Highland Ice Skating Arena. Ice skating was chosen because everyone wanted to do something new and adventurous. Most of us had no prior experience with ice skating so they were a bit anxious.

Getting into the skates can take some getting used to, as we realised. They need to be real tight to protect your ankles and get a good grip on the ice! (if that makes sense). We had arranged to take a group lesson from an instructor. She was friendly and warm and tried to help us out. But it took us a while to getting used to standing on ice on blades. We learnt a few basic moves like the scooter, the glide and the twizzles. Of course falling is a part of the game. But that only adds to the fun. Who dares wins!

While we were struggling on our feet little kids were zipping by us. Boy those kids sure learn fast. But for our first session we did good, I think so. Reminded us of our inner child and the energy within us waiting to sprout. It was a challenge for our bodies, which are normally used to typing at a keyboard and we had great fun exploring our own abilities. This is exactly what the event aimed for, a bit of an adrenaline rush and a learning experience instead of the usual stuff-yourself-like-a-thanksgiving-turkey at any Indian restaurant routine. We look forward to organising more such events and expect more people to join us.

Whats next ? Hmm… Watch out for the next announcement.