Holi at Thraya was not about buying colours and throwing them.
It was about making colours first, and then celebrating.
This year, we hosted a natural Holi colour-making workshop on the Thraya campus with children above five years, our teachers, and Manya Cherabuddi (Instagram: @manya_cherabuddi). Manya works with natural dyes and conducts workshops that introduce the process of creating colours from plant sources.
True joy and wonder were seen in the moments when children realised that colours can come from a beetroot and not from a plastic packet. That wide-eyed pause. That small “Ohhh!” filled the air and the mood at Thraya.
Who Is Manya Cherabuddi
Manya Cherabuddi is a Natural Colour Artist, educator, and natural dye consultant who works with plant-based colours and nature-inspired creative practices. She is the founder of Treehouse by Manya, a creative space dedicated to exploring natural colours through workshops and learning experiences.
Manya often speaks about nature as the greatest teacher and most generous giver. Through her work, she invites children and adults to rediscover colour in its simplest form — from flowers, fruits, leaves, and other natural materials.
When we invited Manya to Thraya, it felt closely aligned with what we try to cultivate on our campus: childhood that is sensory, experiential, and connected to the natural world. Thraya’s campus itself is designed to surround children with plants, natural materials, and spaces that encourage real exploration and discovery.
Where Kitchen, Garden, and Science Came Together
Children were surrounded in a welcoming setup that was intentionally simple and inviting. Bowls, spoons, small stovetops, powders, flowers, and leaves were placed within children’s reach — not merely as a display, but as materials to explore.
The space felt a little like a kitchen, a garden, and a child’s science corner at the same time. There were bowls and spoons for mixing and gentle heating to help plant ingredients release their colours. Flowers, leaves, and even mud from the school campus became sources of discovery as children tested what colours they could create on paper.
Each step of the colour-making was done with the children and by the children. They mixed, stirred, poured, and watched as ingredients slowly changed. They added more water, more cornflour, stirred longer, and observed how the textures shifted — from powder to paste, from watery to thick, sometimes even becoming almost slime-like.
Through these small experiments, the colours did not simply appear.
They slowly came to life in the children’s own hands.
What Children Actually Did (And Why They Loved It)
Children did not sit and “watch”.
They mixed. They pressed. They stirred. They compared shades. They asked questions that adults never ask.
“Why is this pink darker?”
“Can I make it lighter?”
“Why is my green not green enough?”
This is learning that is natural and joyful. At Thraya, we believe children learn best when they engage with their head, heart, and hands — and that is exactly what unfolded as they made natural Holi colours. Little hands worked persistently, feeling the shades and textures of the mixes, thinking through how to achieve the right consistency, and exploring every step with curiosity and care.
And there was something else too.
A child who may usually not like getting their hands messy was delighted with the beetroot stained fingers. Another child who rushes through tasks slowed down to get the colour “just right”. One child kept sniffing the bowl and smiling because it smelled like real vegetables.
Colour became a thing they made, not a thing they bought.
Why This Matters At Thraya
A lot of Holi events can become loud, rushed, and sometimes a bit aggressive. This one stayed calm. Focused. Joyful. It matched what we want childhood to feel like: safe, unhurried, and full of doing.
At Thraya, learning is never just about filling time or completing tasks. Every experience is designed to be meaningful — a chance for children to explore, wonder, and make discoveries for themselves.
Making natural Holi colours stood out as a perfect example for this. The process was not about following strict instructions or achieving a perfect end result. It was not a display on screens to show what it could be. Instead, it gave children enough structure to guide them while leaving room for curiosity, experimentation, and personal choice. It gave them the experience of pressing, smelling, stirring, and discovering for oneself. This approach matters because it honours the way children naturally learn. Real understanding grows when children can touch, feel, manipulate, and experiment where they are learning not just about colours, but about curiosity, patience, and the joy of creating with their own hands.
The Joy of Community
Holi at Thraya was about more than colours. It was about connection, curiosity, and shared joy. Manya Cherabuddi, with her warm presence and expertise brought in the experience that children would carry with them long after the day was over. Thraya teachers joined in with equal delight alongside the children, showing through their own joy how to explore and discover. Seeing the adults so engaged, the children watched closely, imitated eagerly, and felt inspired to try things themselves.
And of course, the children themselves made the day, laughing at surprises, and marveling at the colours they created. They showed that Holi can be about connection, curiosity, and wonder — not packets, not brands, but a bowl, a spoon, a beetroot, and a shared smile.
In the end, it wasn’t just about making colours. It was about making memories together.
