In addition to being Palm Sunday
yesterday, March 24, was also Holi
As the Wikipedia article explains,
Holi is a popular and significant Hindu festival celebrated as the Festival of Colours, Love, and Spring.[1][9][10][11] It celebrates the eternal and divine love of the deities Radha and Krishna.[12][13] Additionally, the day signifies the triumph of good over evil,[14][15] as it commemorates the victory of Vishnu as Narasimha over Hiranyakashipu.[16][17] Holi originated and is predominantly celebrated in the Indian subcontinent of India and Nepal, but has also spread to other regions of Asia and parts of the Western world through the Indian diaspora.[10][18][19][20][21][22][23][24]
Holi also celebrates the arrival of Spring in India and Nepal, the end of winter, and the blossoming of love.[18][25] It is also an invocation for a good spring harvest season.[18][25] It lasts for a night and a day, starting on the evening of the Purnima (full moon day) falling on the Hindu calendar month of Phalguna, which falls around the middle of March in the Gregorian calendar.
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To celebrate Holi, yesterday I ventured over to the SF Jazz Center to finally see and listen to a band that was recommended to me by an Amherst College classmate some many years ago. I went to see Red Baraat led by the very talented Sunny Jain
For over 100 minutes Red Baraat gave a highly energetic set which many of the attendees (including many of the senior citizen attendees) enjoyed by standing, dancing and jumping for the full 100 minutes on the dance floor in front of where the band performed. This was the first time that I have seen a band invite over twenty attendees up on the stage to dance with them while they performed. And the first time that I have seen an entire band go into the dancing crowd and play while the crowd danced around them.
It was a wonderful way to celebrate Holi, one which I recommend to any who may have the opportunity to see Red Baraat in the future. After all Holi, need not be confined to a single day. For some, it can exist on every day.
Maybe you are one of the some. If so, enjoy.
Peace,
Everett "Skip" Jenkins
Fairfield, California
March 25, 2024
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