Festival-goers add to the atmosphere by beating their dhol drums - Photo courtesy of Alex Reeves

By Alex Reeves - @afreeves23

Residents of Lạc Long Quân Street on the west side of Tây Hồ may have found themselves a tad confused last Sunday afternoon, as the unfamiliar sound of Bollywood music blasted out from the old water park. Had they followed up their confusion with a healthy dose of curiosity, they would have been rewarded with a carnival of colour as Hà Nội’s Indian community celebrated one of the most important days of the year.

Holi is the festival of colours, love, equality and spring and is celebrated widely throughout the world by the Indian diaspora. Formally, it’s a celebration of the love between two deities of the Hindu faith (Radha & Krishna), but more casually that love passes down from the gods and flows between revellers in the form of coloured paint and kindness. The event has become globally famous as Indian communities welcome others to join them in the celebrations, and Hà Nội is no exception.

INCHAM is a non-profit organisation established in 1999 to strengthen ties between Indian businesses and Vietnamese authorities, promote relations between the two nations and provide a focal point for the Indian community. They act as a cultural hub, organising events such as this one to celebrate their own culture while fostering a sense of togetherness and integration. Celebrations for Holi here have grown bigger each year since their inception.

As Nitika Malik, the sports and culture representative for INCHAM’s board of governors told me: “Holi has transcended its origins; it’s now a global celebration of unity, joy, and cultural exchange. This should be something for everyone, and we want to share this with people in Hà Nội.”

As an attendee myself, I can testify to that being exactly what was achieved and recommend readers check the calendar for other events such as Diwali (Festival of Lights) to come later this year.

On the day itself, every attendee is greeted with a bag of coloured paint and a promotional T-shirt, an absolute necessity for their own clothes to survive. The aim of the game here is simple: have fun and share it with those around you. Dancing is strongly encouraged and hard to resist with a carefully curated soundtrack of Bollywood beats. I lost track of how many times an unfamiliar smile approached and adorned me ceremoniously with different coloured paint and the familiar words “Happy Holi”.

The event is fully catered and the entrance fee, as low as 600k VNĐ up to a week in advance (1.2m on the day), includes unlimited food and drink for all festival-goers. Local favourites Dalcheeni served up an enormous buffet of classic Indian cuisine, while Carlsberg and Two Schmucks Bar let the libations flow and contributed to the party vibe. With over 700 attendees, multiple embassies, and nationalities in attendance, it was a wonderful reminder of how cultural exchange can connect communities and is now firmly marked on my calendar for 2026. See you there next year. VNS