Raja Kumari: Playing Holi is like living my Bollywood dream

The rap artiste talks about how she lived the festival of Holi through Hindi films while growing up in Los Angeles; adds that she will be hitting the stage with a Holi-special show after two whole years

This Holi is going to be rather special for rapper Raja Kumari as she will be hitting the stage with a Holi special show after two whole years. “One of my big shows that got cancelled due to the pandemic is the Holi show that I do in Mumbai. They are so much fun because we get to wear costumes and perform live. And this year, I’ve a show in Chandigarh,” she says, adding that she is beyond excited to be celebrating the festival in India this year.

‘The first time I experienced Holi was in college where I was the Indian club president’

Kumari reveals that for a major part of her early years, she didn’t get to celebrate the festival of colours in all its glory. She says, “It’s more of a common practice in America today. But when I was younger, it was so hard to get colours. I remember calling up Indian stores a month ahead and ordering them.”

The 36-year-old shares her early memory of Holi was picked up from Bollywood films. “I saw a lot of Holi in films. The iconic Rang Barse (Silsila; 1981) was a song we danced to a lot. Playing Holi is like living my Bollywood dream,” she says.

Kumari adds that it was only after going to college that she went big on it: “The first time I experienced Holi was in college where I was the Indian club president. We organised it at the beach. In my high school, I was one out of three people who were Indians. College was the time when I was surrounded by more Indians, and that helped us bond over our culture.”

So, what does Holi mean to her? “It’s a reminder that everybody is equal as you see strangers celebrating it together. It reminds me of the stories that I heard of Lord Krishna as a child. And this Holi, I hope we keep nourishing our inner child because that keeps us healthy and happy,” ends Kumari.