A fusion of cultures
Leon D’Souza described Utsav ’04’s 20-minute late start as authentically “Indian in nature.”
D’Souza, who hosted the festival, held by the Consortium for Indian Culture, said the customary prayer that began the festival was meant for “clearing out obstacles” in dedication to Ganesha – a Hindu god.
Seattle-imported dancer Vidya Vinod performed a classical Indian dance, “Bharatnatyam,” which is more than 3,000 years old and explores passion and anger through subtle facial expressions and detailed movement. Vinod has studied classical dance under the auspices of a world-renowned guru for the past 15 years.
Turbans, swords and colorful yards of fabric called “saris” adorned folk dancers in each act. Live classical music featured CIC president Ram Swaminathan with hand drums, vocalist Shyam Kumar and violinist Divya Ramchadram who, together, played a song with nine melodies in “Carnatic style.”
Ramchadran joined with the CIC as a guest performer from Salt Lake City.
D’Souza explained that during winter months in India (November to January), light is a symbol of warmth. For this reason, it is common to light several lamps during the winter season. Six dancers demonstrated this custom with candles in each hand, in a performance emphasizing the warmth of light in the darkness.
In his presidential address, Swaminathan thanked the audience for attending and for their interest in the production of Utsav.
“The CIC is not just a group of Indian students on campus,” he said. “We are a group focused on outreach to the community. Cultural exchange is central to our mission, and your presence shows that we are doing our job.”
The chief guest of the evening was Chris Fawson of International Affairs at USU.
“Students at USU really benefit from the international students on campus-they enrich education at USU,” Fawson said.
The CIC’s objective was to share the Indian culture with USU students and community members throughout the show. Between acts, T-shirts were given as prizes for people who could answer trivia questions about India. Questions such as, “Where is the Taj Mahal?” “Where did yoga originate?” and “What is Utsav?” were answered correctly and contestants received an Utsav ’04 souvenir T-shirt.
Musical fusion of classical Indian music with contemporary western rock proved to be a harmonious cultural blend. Guitarists Jordan Riley and Kris Krompel rocked out in an eight-man composition of original music using traditional sound. In a revised version of an Ozzy Osbourne original, the musicians created a heavy metal favorite with an Indian twist.
Yoga, which has become an international phenomenon, originated in India. Swaminathan described yoga as meditation.
“Unlike most religions, yoga tells you how to be, not what to do,” Swaminathan said.
Swaminathan demonstrated his yoga skills in a sequence of challenging yoga poses, surrounded by a group demonstrating simpler poses called “sun salutations.”
Utsav was a benefit festival for disabled children in Cache Valley and under-privileged children in India. The CIC hopes to increase its community involvement in the valley and also support charitable causes in India. For more information about future CIC events, visit www.usu.edu/cic.
-vanessak@cc.usu.edu