By Aidan Thompson
De Montfort University (DMU) students turned Bede Park into an explosion of colour on Friday in celebration of Holi in its fifth year of major celebrations at the university.
The event organised by De Montfort Students’ Union’s Indian Society and DMU Square Mile saw hundreds of students accumulate in the local park to throw brightly-coloured paints at each other all to raise money for charity.
Alongside a speech reiterating #LoveInternational, DSU Vice President Student Activities Ahtesham Mahmood declared the festival open, creating clouds of colour and filling the park with nothing but happiness.
President-elect Ahtesham said: “The festival of Holi has been held at DMU for the past 5 years and the Indian Society has played a massive part in the event each year.
“Holi marks the end of winter and the start of spring, giving us an opportunity to come together and cherish the life that we live.”
Money raised from selling the paint was put towards the DMU Square Mile India fund and DSU’s hand-picked charities Joe Humphries Memorial Trust and Medical Aid for Palestinians.
Neha Shah, Indian Society President, said: “Square Mile has been so amazing and supportive to ensure that this event goes ahead as they did with the Bollywood Party a few months ago.
“Sam Wright from the Square Mile team and Katherine Derwent from DSU have really helped ensure everything was in place and we are delighted it has been such a huge success and we’re hoping to raise valuable funds.
“I am so proud of the team and what we’ve achieved as it is down to them that this whole thing is possible. Just look how happy everyone is here today and that’s what it’s all about, spreading the happiness.”
The Square Mile India fund was created to support children in Ahmedabad, where DMU students have experienced trips in recent months to create a difference to local people’s lives.
