Happy Phagwah

So today we watched the movie Colorforms and I was wondering what Professor Leeper meant when he said that the grandpa had taken the little girl to a pagan festival. I decided to research exactly what people meant when they said "Happy Phagwah!" (Although I had written it as pagua at first.) I found out that Holi, or Phagwah/Pagwa, is a spring festival that is celebrated by Hindus, Buddhists, and Sikhs. Holi is usually celebrated in India, Nepal, and Sri Lanka, but there is also a celebration for it in New York. It lasts 16 days and it is celebrated on the last full moon of winter. The celebration is a way to mark the beginning of spring. The major part of the festival consists of throwing color powder (Gulal) at other people. The bright colors are said to signify life, energy, and joy.

Before reading up on what festival the grandpa had taken the little girl to, I thought about what the movie was trying to say. I didn't think about the child's creativity as much as I thought it had to do with religion. I thought that the strictness of the parents towards the little girl was more like the Christian foundations, or how Christians have all these strict rules about how they need to act. When the grandpa took the girl to the festival I felt that she was experiencing freedom from those strict rules and was exploring other options.

Now that I realize what the bright colors of the powders signify I think of it differently. I still think that the girl was held down by her routine and limited lifestyle. I think that she was trying to express herself as best as she could, but no one was listening to her or realizing the joy that she had. When her grandpa came along I think it was refreshing for her to experience the joy of life and to let her energy out in a healthy way.


To the Pringles Mobile!