A RAINBOW of colours will brighten an East Oxford community centre as Hindus across the county celebrate the festival Holi.

Members of the Oxford Hindu Temple and Community Centre Project will decorate the Asian Cultural Centre next Saturday for their festival of colours.

The group continues to raise the £2 million needed to give Oxford its first Hindu temple and create a permanent base for the county’s estimated 5,000 Hindus.

Vice-chair Chinta Kallie said: “Holi has really become a festival of colour and a festival of love.

“It’s the one festival where there is no distinction made between class and gender or friends and neighbours. Everyone is welcome.


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“It breaks down barriers between people in a way that is full of fun and laughter.”

The festivities at the Manzil Way centre will not only mark Holi, which was on Friday, but also the Pakistani festival Basant, which celebrates the beginning of spring.

Henna artists and face painters will pamper visitors, while a magician will be performing from 1pm. The event will also be packed full of traditional Indian treats and those inclined will have the chance to hit the dance floor and join in some authentic Indian dancing.

And the Lord Mayor of Oxford, Mohammed Abbasi, will join the festival fun from 2pm.

Mrs Kallie said: “We want to create an opportunity for people to relax and enjoy themselves and understand each other.”

The project launched five years ago after members failed to find a permanent base in Oxford to hold community events and communal prayer. Members of the 300-strong group have raised £110,000 towards their target, which is needed to buy land, and build a temple and community centrewhich would host lunch clubs, games sessions and dance and language classes.

Mother-of-one Mrs Kallie said: “Certainly there is no permanent place of worship for the public. It just becomes quite exhausting. It’s difficult but we are adaptable and we try and help each other.”

This year committee members are looking to raise at least £500,000.

Mrs Kallie said the group hopes to transform a disused building into a temporary base this year, and she said it was important to bring together all the diverse communities in the city.

She added: “We want to celebrate and create space where people can share memories. What we are trying to do is ensure that children growing up in the city have a good understanding of their linguistic, cultural and faith backgrounds.”