The massive downpour at the start of the festival was easily forgotten by the generous amount of sunshine during the remainder of the day. The main stage overlooked a field of colorful T’s, which were definitely not feeling blue. A colorful mist covered the festival crowd each hour, as there were collective countdowns.

A group of students from both Industrial and Mechanical Engineering were still a bit hoarse from the past introduction week. Nevertheless, they demonstrated how to dance Indian-style: “Look, you’re supposed to limp on one leg, while using your other foot to touch someone else’s.” Sanne Hendriks, a student Industrial Engineering, showed little interest in the traditional dancing: “I mainly enjoy to fling the colored powder at one another.”

Cosmos, the international student association of the TU/e, organized a similar, albeit smaller festival last year. This year, they were mainly involved by serving as volunteers during the festival, making the main language near e.g. the toilets English. “It feels like we can learn from each other’s cultures today”, one of them explains.

Holi is a Hindu spring festival, also known as the festival of colors, and typically comes in March. Missed out on this festival? Don’t worry: Student association SSRE organizes a Holi Run on September 13.