Jardin d’Acclimatation celebrates Holi Festival with third edition
© ARR
Holi, the magnificent and colorful Indian festival, will light up the Jardin d’Acclimatation for a third edition on Sunday, May 22, beginning at 10 am. The Indian community in Paris and everyone eager to discover an extraordinary experience infused with peace and joy are welcome to join the fun.
Rescheduled for public health considerations from March 22 to May 22, the Holi festival will at last illuminate Paris with the colors of Mumbai, Calcutta, Madras, Pondicherry and Chandernagor. Immersed in a world of spices, saris and exquisite craftsmanship, visitors can enjoy an introduction to Indian calligraphy, yoga or meditation. The gastronomy village will propose the tasty savors of Indian specialties such as tandoori, tikka masala, korma and curry.
In 2019 over 30,000 people attended this extraordinary celebration, which culminates with a merry throwing of colors. In Indian mythology, the origin story of Holi recounts that Krishna, whose skin was dark blue, fell in love with the fair-complexioned Radha. Unhappy about having much darker skin than his beloved, Krishna complained to the mother of all the deities, who advised him to apply colored powder on Radha’s face. To celebrate spring, hundreds of kilos of bright blue, yellow, pink, red and purple powder will fly through air in the Bois de Boulogne, coloring visitors, who are invited to come all dressed in white.
From noon until 6 pm the Green Mirror – the vast lawn facing the Fondation Louis Vuitton – will host an open-air stage with performances by classical and contemporary dance troupes from Tamil Nadu, Maharashtra, Punjab and Rajasthan. The program includes Barathynathyam dances in honor of Ganesh, Bolly Kathak dance from northern India, dances from Kerala, Bollywood dancing, Daandiya dances from Gujarat with brightly colored bamboo sticks, Dholl Damakha dances with Punjabi drums and music and more. There will be over six hours of singing, music and dancing, including the Bassant troupe from Rajasthan, which will perform the Maharajah Dance with a joyful burst of sound and colors. Some 200 artists and dancers will be on hand to captivate and delight the public.