The Holi Festival is decadent and depraved

March 23, 2009
Education and more
By Taylor Atkins


I had my first taste of gonzo journalism Sunday at Topeka’s Holi Festival.

For those of you unfamiliar with the term, the Holi (pronounced like holly) Festival is a traditional Indian holiday where participants welcome the spring by throwing colored powder, called Gulal, on one another as a blessing.

For those of you unfamiliar with the other term, gonzo journalism is a style of reporting credited to Hunter S. Thompson where the reporter is part of the story.

I didn’t try to mimic Thompson, mind you. I was forced into the style. It turns out when almost 75 people are covered from head to toe in bright blues, oranges, greens and pinks, anyone who isn’t also caked doesn’t stand a chance. No matter how much they insist they are just there to cover the event for The Capital-Journal.

Children and adults alike threw, rubbed, smeared and sprinkled Gulal all over me, wishing “Happy Holi” with each tag. My shirt looked like a kindergartner’s easel. My coworkers back in the newsroom (one they stopped laughing) called me “Smurfette” because of my blue-powder mask. And our press guys offered me a job for the night because I already looked like I’d gone swimming in CMYK ink.

Despite the “clever” nicknames and strange looks, my foray into gonzo journalism was actually pretty fun. I tried something new, learned a little about another culture and even got to watch a bit of Kansas running over Dayton on the way to the Sweet 16. (Apparently, modern Holi Festivals, always held this time of year, have learned to make room for the NCAA Tournament. The Gulal was thrown at halftime.)

I’m no Hunter S. Thompson, and the Holi Festival is nothing like his depiction of the Kentucky Derby, which the title of this blog entry could imply. I believe as a reporter I shouldn’t become the news. But it is good to know that while on a story in the future it’s OK to get my hands (or shoes, shirt, hair, pants, face, etc.) a little dirty.

Check out the story on the Holi Festival and a Spotted photo gallery of the event.