Photos Courtesy of the Indo-Caribbean Alliance
By Michael V. Cusenza
Borough Hindus last weekend commemorated the spring festival of Holi with the 30th annual Phagwah Parade in Richmond Hill.
While the ritual of Holi was observed last month, the parade kicked off at noon on Saturday at Liberty Avenue and 133rd Street. Hundreds of revelers romped down the South Queens thoroughfare, with many marking the Festival of Colors or the Festival of Love with the traditional tossing of “abir” – brightly hued powders – at each other.
The parade terminated at Phil “Scooter” Rizzuto Park, where attendees enjoyed a cultural program of music and traditional dance recitals.
Phagwah is considered as one of the most revered and celebrated jubilees of India, according to the Society for the Confluence of Festivals in India. In Queens, it has become “a community cultural event which helps to propagate spiritual ideas of social healing, love, peace, forgiveness, and reconciliation,” according to Phagwah Parade of NY, Inc. Co-Chairmen Herman Singh and Naidoo Veerapen.
