West meets East as Jews come down to attend Holi celebrations at Hampi
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Jews in Hampi celebrate Holi
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West meets East as Jews come down to attend Holi celebrations at Hampi
Over 150 visitors from various countries, mainly from Israel, France and England, flew down to Hampi to add to the festival of colours.
u00a0"It's the only place where both foreigners and Indians celebrate Holi together," said J Venkatesh, one of the organisers. "It is the custom here for the past few years."
A large number of Jews, had moved out from Hampi following the Pune blasts after rumours of police bringing Jews under the scanner, made rounds.
However, not allowing the unnecessary fear to last long, the Holi celebrations on Sunday brought the cheers back to Hampi.
"Juhus (Jews), who moved from here after the Pune blasts are back even as incidents following Pune blasts panicked them," said Shivram Bhat, a local priest. "They celebrate Holi here every year."u00a0
Shanth Kumar, a Hampi Youth member, who was also a part of celebrations, said, "The celebrations began on Sunday and went on till Monday evening. We mainly intend to showcase our culture and tradition to the west."
Celebrations
Hampi Youth members and foreign visitors, who assembled together on Sunday evening, kicked off the celebrations with a campfire, followed by a dance drama depicting Hindu myths attached to the festival.
Traditional dances and musical performances using instruments like Dollu (drums) and Tapadi (an instrument) were showcased.u00a0
Along with the foreign visitors, Indian tourists attend the celebrations as well.
"Few of the visitors are regulars and make their trips exclusively to be part of the festival here. Visitors touring India also come down after learning about the festival. They usually come from tourist spots like Gokarna and Goa," said Rachaiah R S, a photojournalist at Hampi.
Visitors, who attended the festivities, besides citing their experience to be unique, recalled festivals of their land.u00a0
"It is a unique festival. We play with colours here as we do with tomatoes in the tomato festival," said Carolina, a visitor from France. "We come to know about the culture and tradition here as we play Holi in Hampi."
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