The message of Holi is to rejoice the victory of good over evil, which was very well the motto of the celebration here at Tampa, with more than fifty people joining hands from all walks of life embracing one and all by destroying all mental inhibitions. It was Holi 2005, a gala time of excitement, organized by the HSS of Tampa at Hillsborough State Park on the Saturday afternoon from 12:00 pm till 5:00 pm. It was graced with presence of people from all ages, ranging from one year old to seventy year “young” from all across the world, from the Americas to the Europes to Africanas and of course the West Indies. The park with its scenic beauty, with sun playing hide and seek in the clouds, and cool breeze to take away the heat from what was expected as a scorching hot afternoon, added to the spirit of the festivity.
We had a special guests, Dr. Shinde, from California who gave an inspirational talk to everyone present at the occasion, and re-lived HSS history. Another guest, our beloved margadarshak, Sri. Saumitraji also gave a wonderful discourse on Hinduism and its relevance today in our lives in a very short jovial manner. No event is complete without sweets and eats, various kinds of sweets and delicacies were sponsored by many families. With regular chanting of shlokas and singing the ever inspirational song of HSS in the open aura of the park was an enlivening moment to every soul. Playing with colors was so great fun equally to the tiny tots to the teenagers as well as the elderly. After the colors got exhausted, we all joined forces to find out who could be sent to bolster the Indian Cricket Team, for which a thrilling and competitive game of six overs was played. “If it is cricket, it must be India,” as we always know, there are more players than the field could accommodate and hence everyone got a chance to bat a few balls, score runs and show their mighty talents. Some people went on a walk in the park, admiring nature and to “gulmil” with the spring blossom flora of the park, to make the flowers envy their colors.
In short, it was an event to remember for every soul. It set a bench mark to how events could be organized and make it equally entertaining and inspirational. The author of this report thanks specially the organizers and all those people who made this event a grand success.
