-President Ali urges at Phagwah celebration at New Amsterdam

JOINING hundreds of Guyanese in New Amsterdam, Region Six, President Dr. Irfaan Ali along with several other government officials kick-started the Holi (Phagwah) celebrations on Sunday.

Holi, which is commonly known in Guyana as Phagwah is one of the most eagerly awaited Hindu celebrations. It is also referred to as the Festival of Colours and signifies the triumph of good over evil.

Delivering a message of unity and love, President Ali said: “Today we see one of the finest art forms that is the use of colour. Colour is what lights art up and art is a celebration of history. It is a celebration of culture and colour is used as a foundational element in celebrating art, celebrating life, celebrating history and if colour is the foundational requirement through which history can be celebrated, culture can be celebrated, then colour cannot be the reason we are divided.”

On Phagwah day, it is customary to see Guyanese of all creed and race embracing each other and partaking in the use coloured powder and is some cases buckets of water.

While this aspect of the festivities is widely celebrated, President Ali reminded everyone present of the religious aspect of Phagwah and used the opportunity to urge Guyanese to spend their time uplifting others.

“This is what Holi does, it brings us together under the colourful banner of humanity, celebrating life, celebrating happiness and celebrating importantly goodness over evil… As we build a country, as we build communities and societies let us build it and embrace it in a way that reflect our common purpose that is to do the best we can to uplift each other.”

“We have enough problems in this world, we have enough problems for us to add more on our plate. Let us rethink our individual and collective global target. Rethink it at these moments especially when culture, religious beliefs brings us together under a humbling tent,” he added.

On the day of Phagwah, many temples conduct services, after which members usually walk around the village embracing each other.

On the night before Phagwah, a few persons would gather around the bonfire to witness the burning of “Holika”.
This signifies good over evil. For many traditions in Hinduism, Holi celebrates the killing of “Holika” the sister of King Hiranyakaspur, who wanted to kill his son Prahlad.

Prahlad was a true devotee of God Vishnu, and as such, his father was not appreciative. Instead, he wanted him to worship him. Prahlad refused to let his father’s influence affect his devotion to Lord Vishnu; hence, the King got angry and arranged to burn his son on the lap of his sister Holika who had a saree immune to fire. But instead, the sister was burned to ashes and Prahlad was saved by God.