Festival of colours

ONE thing stood out yesterday when Hindus around the world celebrated Holi, the Festival of Colours. Colourful powders were the order of the day. There was music and merry making. They shared a common theme!

The festival is often referred to as New Year celebration for Hindus.

There were lots of colours, joy and laughter, religious songs and the sharing of food. The abundance of colours though was a significant feature of the event. It is about a new beginning after all.

The faithful considered an end to past errors and conflicts and looked forward with hope and renewed vigour to a new beginning.

They burned the effigy of Holika and played with the ashes left behind in a symbolic destruction of evil.

It shouldn’t be just about Hindus celebrating a very special festival though.

This is an opportunity for us all to appreciate an event that we can all learn from.

Perhaps we should remind ourselves that we all make mistakes. That’s life! It’s the nature of human beings.

We have our moments of weaknesses.

We live and we learn! Yet we each can reflect on our mistakes, appreciate them for the lessons we may be able to get off them, and make decisions that are good for us all moving forward.

Hopefully we all can have it in our hearts to forgive and get over conflicting views.

Hindus around the world had an opportunity to look forward with optimism and hope, to a new beginning.

Many will appreciate the need to embrace lessons with a positive mind.

No matter what religion we belong to, or believe in, there is one common factor that binds us together.

Many of us appreciate the thing about good over evil and we acknowledge that we all make mistakes.

When we accept mistakes, and learn from them, our lives can be better.

Hindus yesterday met at temples, sang songs, laughed, danced to beautiful music and threw powder on each other, then they moved on to other people’s homes and shared the fun and joy with them. Let’s face it, we live in a country that is special. Such festivals remind us about who we are.

We are fun loving people. We value friendship and we live in a multiracial country.

We have been living together in a country of many ethnicities and religions, far removed from the horrors of volatile nations of the world, from ethnic violence and killings, from indiscriminate abuse and the horrors of violence based on divisions. And we have been living together, side by side, in peace over many decades. We have grown up with different ethnicities and religions, and we have embraced and accepted each other. We unite when the Fijian Drua plays against top sides in Super Rugby for instance, and we rejoice every time the national sevens rugby side wins on the World Rugby circuit, or at the Olympic Games. Sometimes we take things for granted. We forget about the bonds we have nurtured over time!

Fiji needs such events to remind us about unity, peace and happiness, and to keep our people together!