Muskan Sharma recalls growing up surrounded by colours, Indian sweets and loved ones during Holi – the Hindu festival of colour that’s celebrated by millions of South Asians around the world.
“Holi was spent with my grandparents in their flower garden with a lot of water guns and powdered colour,” she tells Draw Your Box. “We used to start the day with a pooja, have breakfast and then spend the rest of the day inviting people walking on the street into our home to have sweets and play Holi.
“It was a small intimate celebration with my family, but by 4pm we would all be deep violet in colour, groaning about going to school/work the next day with the pigments on our skin.”
The 24-year-old content creator migrated to Australia with her family when she was 12. Seven years later, she moved to Melbourne on her own – and has since garnered a dedicated following thanks to her TikTok videos about everything from friendships and fashion to identity and culture. During this time, she’s also navigated an experience that resonates with many young South Asians. It’s the one of reconciling two cultural identities, while trying to find a safe place to celebrate yourself and your culture authentically. To celebrate in a way that actually speaks to your experience and values, rather than how other generations experience it or how the media depicts it.
With this in mind, Muskan used her platform this week to host an intimate, sophisticated Holi soiree. What set it apart from many large community Holi events in Melbourne was that it was curated by a South Asian Australian content creator for gen Z and millennials in the community.
“I’ve been in this industry for as long as I can remember to be honest, and I was always going to Christmas PR events and sporting PR events,” she tells us. “Never did I ever feel like something was there for me. Yes, you have your Fed Square Diwali and Holi family celebrations hosted by the councils, but I believed I deserved more.
“I am a cool Indian girl. I need celebrations with production value and thought put into them, and if brands weren’t going to make this space for me, then I will make this space for myself and other people just like me.”
Held at Mr L’s Bar & Restaurant in the heart of Melbourne’s South Yarra, the intimate event with 40 guests was planned to perfection. Muskan paid intricate attention to detail in terms of food, beverages, decor and entertainment. Pani puri, chaat and dhokla were some of the delicious menu items, while each guest walked away with a special Holi gift bag after a night of dancing to Bollywood songs.
“I had my heart set on engaging as many desi vendors as I can and that was a non-negotiable,” says Muskan.
“I had done a tasting of the menu with the venue, hand picked the wines and ran around all morning finalising decor. We had free flowing wines, live Indian street food and goodie bags for the girls because Indians do nothing half-assed!”
Muskan says that while the event was relatively intimate, she received an “overwhelming” response when she did a public callout on TikTok that asked her followers and the wider community for expressions of interest to attend.
“I had 300+ people register which just goes to show how big the desire to connect with one another is,” she shares. “My community and followers are the reason I have been given so many opportunities in my social media career, so for me it was never a question that when it came to celebrating, I was going to give back to the people who got me here.”
With 40 seats available, Muskan says she landed on a sweet spot with 25 followers in attendance, and the rest being “people in the industry who had always advocated and supported me”.
“I believe just as much as we have to celebrate ourselves, we need to allow other people from other cultures into our space.”
Melbourne-based Aayushi Shah met Muskan for the first time at the event, and describes the evening as “truly the most fun and inclusive space for us”. Growing up as a brown woman in Australia, Aayushi has seen how the west can so often capitalise on South Asian traditions, practices and even fashion (who remembers the Scandinavian dupatta trend?). When it comes to Holi, common practices include smearing one another with bright coloured powder to celebrate the end of winter, the triumph of good over evil and the divine love between the Hindu god Krishna and his consort Radha. There’s tradition and meaning behind this, it’s not a 5km park run with some colours thrown in.
“The world loves to celebrate colour runs and has started wearing ‘Scandinavian’ dupattas,” Aayushi tells Draw Your Box. “But to be there with such talented, warm and ambitious women and allies celebrating in our own right truly felt like something worth noting.”
Speaking of those Scandi dupattas, Muskan herself decided to flip the script and make her own statement about the viral trend – which if you’re not across, was essentially where white women on TikTok were co-opting dupattas with their dresses, claiming the look is “very European, very classy”.
Muskan wore this red dress and scarf combo to her event after a follower tagged her in the retailer’s comments section.
“They were calling out yet another whitification of the dupatta and I thought it was the perfect opportunity to show the trendy girls how the OG’s do it,” she tells us.
According to Aayushi, “Muskan is using her influence to create the spaces we dream about, and that is powerful”.
It’s this kind of feedback that affirms to Muskan it was an event worth hosting. “The outpour of love I received from this event was absolutely insane,” she says. “Before leaving, people told me, ‘this felt like a function at our cousins place’ or ‘this felt like a family night’ or ‘I have never laughed more at an industry event’.”
It also reminded her of how young Muskan had sorely needed this. A brown girl who joyously played Holi colours with her Indian grandparents. But also a brown girl who truly felt on the outer once she came to Australia, longing to feel seen and heard.
“I remember when I was growing up in Australia I would wrap random boxes on Christmas to put under a tree and take a photo for my Snapchat story. That’s how badly I wanted to celebrate ANY culture,” she says.
“So to come to a point where I spent my evening eating gol gappas and bhel puri, and dancing to Balam Pichkari, is something I really didn’t even envision for myself.
“To preserve culture, you must continue to create it. People like me are so deprived of proudly celebrating who they are inherently, and that was the biggest learning for everyone in that room last night.”
@mussymus Sometimes you don’t get a seat at the table so you build your own
♬ what was i made for – happierthanever <3
Top image source: Supplied/Riya Gupta
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