NSW Premier Chris Minns’ face and white shirt were a kaleidoscope of Holi colours as he stepped up on stage. AHIA Holi 2025
As a guest at the Australian Hindi Indian Association AHIA’s Holi event, he was addressing revellers even more dipped, drenched, and dyed in the shades of Holi.
“Whatever your heritage, you can feel part of the community by getting messed up, a bit of excitement, a bit of fun – exactly what we need right now,” he said.
Amid social cohesion challenges stemming from the crisis in Gaza, Mr. Minns had grasped the true essence of Holi.
Holi breaks down social and cultural barriers.
The coloured powder we smear on each other dissolves boundaries, allowing differences to fade away. What remains is our shared humanity at the heart of it all.
The colour of the skin is significant no longer – bathed in Holi hues, everyone looks the same.
A lightness inevitably follows this lifting of burdens, there’s laughter and merriment… and more coloured powder is reached for!
Hurrah for muck-up festivals, whether you throw coloured powder or flour, or spray water, or trample on tomatoes. Caught up in the drudgery of regimented daily lives, it is therapeutic to “let go” once in a while. AHIA Holi 2025
“How lucky we are to be celebrating this with you,” Mr Minns declared.
Well-known Indophile Warren Kirby, the Member for Riverstone, was around, shaking hands with gulal-coloured palms, and Mayor of Baulkham Hills Shire Dr Michelle Byrne claimed she had left her formal attire at home to embrace the Holi colour.
AHIA, meanwhile, had all the angles covered: plenty of gulal on offer, thandai, pakodas, chhola bhatura lunch, gulab jamuns and chai.
Oh, and those essential Holi elements: loud music, louder patrons, and some preventable moves on the dance floor!
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Sushma Ahluwalia had an embrace for everyone even as her eagle eye spotted every detail that needed attention; Mohinder Sharma was gracious and efficient as usual; Vivek Bhatnagar accompanied the dignitaries around dutifully; Dheeraj Thadani as MC stepped into his mum Preeti’s shoes admirably (bring on AHIA GenNext!), and a bunch of volunteers from the organisation kept the crowds under control especially as the speeches were on (all monitors in their school life no doubt).
Meanwhile, the end-of-day banter: Yeh Chris Minns khata kya hai? Dekho kitna patla hai. What does Chris Minns eat – he’s so fit.
This while reaching for another bhatura, of course. Yum. AHIA Holi 2025
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