COLOURS

Sunday, July 23rd, 2023

Thunder Bay, Ontario

Ben Boshcoff is the mayor of Thunder Bay, and he partook in the colour throw on this second day at the Marina Park venue, a follow up on the Festival of India. Ben was on the stage with me and smeared some of that coloured powder on the cheek. Chief Officer from the Toronto Dominion Bank helped himself to my other side with the colour green, the bank's official tone. That's the limit for me. I've got my saffron to protect.

This annual fest is highly successful in Thunder Bay. I wonder why other places within the US and Canada don't organize this fest. Hey, Toronto, wake up! I see many families come to engage in the fun. These parties could easily become a Hare Krishna trademark. They are clean, wholesome, and energetic. Even holy!

By the way, that's what they call this event in India. One just has to have a look at the spelling. Holi is the way it's written. Its origin? Well, here is what Britannica has to say:

Holi's traditions vary throughout the country and have their roots in Indian 'mythology' [the word 'mythology' is not what's used when describing any stories from the Abrahamic traditions]. In many places, the festival is associated with the legend of Hiranyakashipu, a demon king in ancient India. Hiranyakashipu enlisted the help of his sister, Holika, to kill his son Prahlad.

This failed.

Another story tells of Krishna whose skin is dark while His consort, Radha, is fair. To rectify this gap of difference, Krishna playfully threw colours at her. At Holi, people throw coloured powders at each other.

MAY THE SOURCE BE WITH YOU!