Holi

Color is endlessly fascinating. I took a color theory course a couple of years ago, and am still reading through the suggested reading list.

Much interpretation of color is cultural. White is a color associated with purity in the US, but it is a color of mourning in other parts of the world. There is a wonderful book, Chromophobia, that includes an exploration of color and economic class. The author argues that a lack of color is strongly associated in the US with good taste and wealth.

I love color. It is difficult to pick a favorite because I like almost every color in some context or other.

Visiting India was a joy for me because it is rich in color. It isn't unusual for people there to paint their homes bold, saturated, contrasting colors such as orange and blue. Their clothing tends to be bright as well. Unlike New York, it is very unusual to see someone wear black in India.

This week Indians are celebrating spring with the festival of colors, Holi.

For many years I have enjoyed taking Bollywood dance classes. I have no Indian ancestry but most of the students do. They got together today to celebrate Holi at the South Street Seaport. They wore white clothes and threw brightly colored powder at one another.

We had a long rehearsal today for an upcoming recital and many students still had green, red, purple, and yellow powder on their bodies.

At the end of rehearsal our instructor distributed costumes. Most of the dancers are female, but there are a handful of men. At one point the instructor held three costumes for male dancers in her hand. They were identical except color: yellow, green, and bright pink.

Immediately the men began protesting against the pink costume. They pleaded with the instructor to have the yellow or green costumes.

The large number of women in the room began chanting "pink, pink, pink!" while clapping their hands.

This same group had just celebrated color boldly and felt comfortable walking about with splotches of colored powder on their skin, hair, and clothes. Yet, they had internalized the US correspondence of femininity and color enough to cause a loud commotion when men were offered a pink costume.