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a href="http://">Colors of India: Indian female Hindu worshippers are covered in red dye during Holi celebrations, the Hindu festival of colors, at the Dauji Temple in Dauji, 180 kilometers south of New Dehli, India, on Monday.AP/Kevin FrayerHoli, India’s much-loved festival of colors, is celebrated by Indians all over the world.

This year’s Holi, which fell on March 20, saw Indians and non-Indians mix in a sea of colors at the Jakarta Fairground (PRJ) in Kemayoran, Jakarta.

As one of the liveliest Indian festivals that symbolizes the victory of good over evil, it traditionally brings together people from all walks of life.

It is believed the festival originated from the story of Prahlad, whose devotion to Lord Vishnu allowed him to survive a burning pyre while his evil aunt Holika died. Holi thus takes its name from Holika.

What makes celebrating Holi so popular among youngsters and adults alike is tossing colored powder, squirting water at friends and anyone, and generally joking around.

Here in Jakarta, a group of young entrepreneurs — who call themselves Da Difference — decided to organize a celebration of this kind in Kemayoran.

The festival kicked off with a small crowd splashing around in the rain. Once the sky cleared, the crowd swelled and people from many nationalities could be seen tossing colored powder at each other, to the sounds of catchy tunes from Bollywood movies.

Many parents attended the event to supervise their young children, who laughed the afternoon away pouring buckets of colored water onto each other.

One of the participants, Mike, noted that “the celebration was able to bring about people of different ages in one place”.

Mena, a middle aged lady, said her favorite part of the days was being sprinkled with water.

“At first I was hesitant to go under the water as I didn’t want to get wet and messy. But then I told myself I would never get an opportunity like this again to have fun like I use to when I was a child. So I did get plashed with colors and sprinkled with water. When I looked at myself in the mirror, I thought I wasn’t looking that bad at all. In fact my face was glowing from the inner joy I felt after celebrating Holi”.

Deepak Dodani said there was no difference between the rich and poor that day.

“Everyone was putting colors on each other and not minding it at all. It gave a warmth feeling of togetherness even if it was just for a couple of hours,” she said.

Celebrations vary across different states in India.

In Gujurat, people gather around bonfires, sing songs and dance, while people in Kashmir celebrate Holi to mark the beginning of the harvest season, throwing colored water and powder as well as singing and dancing.

The triumph of Good: Colored dye is thrown in the air over a crowd of Hindu worshippers during Holi celebrations, in Dauji, India. AP/Kevin FrayerIn Ahmedabad, a pot of buttermilk is hung in the street. Young boys form pyramids to reach it and girls throw colored water on them to commemorate Lord Krishna’s pranks when he was a child.

In Mathura, where Lord Krishna grew up, the festival is celebrated for 16 days to commemorate the love between Krishna and Radha. It is believed Krishna, who is of dark complexion, used to complain to his mother about the color of his skin, because it was so different from that of his fair-skinned girlfriend Radha. Krishna’s mother applied color on Radha’s face, which became the symbol for this festival of love.

Indians here in Indonesia may have not celebrated Holi quite like their counterparts in their motherland, but celebrations this year brought a sense of belonging to each one of them.

As the organizer Da Difference put it, “Holi is a festival that evens out all differences through colors”.