Diwali brings light to USU
As part of the Indian Student Association’s annual celebration of Diwali Saturday, the Taggart Student Center hosted dancing, singing, short mimes, other musical numbers and the lighting of a lamp that represents Diwali.
Diwali is the Indian festival of lights. It is an event celebrated annually all around India. The light of Diwali is the light of hope, love, and courage, ISA members said.
“Because it is such a great event in Indian history, the Indian Student Association feels it is necessary to celebrate Diwali, even when we are so far from India,” said Madan Anbajura, a graduate student in electrical and computer engineering, and also a member of the ISA. “The ISA has been putting on this celebration at USU for about 20 to 40 years now.”
Students and participants in the program worked for about one and a half months to prepare for this event, said Dhiren Amin, president of ISA. He said there were about 100 participants total.
Anbajura said Diwali is a celebration of the return of King Rama to his kingdom after 14 years. He said King Rama left his kingdom and went to a forest in Lanka where he destroyed Ravana, the demon king of Lanka. By destroying Ravana, the entire kingdom of Lanka was also demolished.
“King Rama’s return was celebrated with everyone in the kingdom, lighting lamps and setting them on their front porches, which became a tradition, and is still celebrated to this day,” Anbajura said.
Diwali is a four-day celebration full of lights. The Indian people also buy new things for their homes, bright new clothes and new jewelry for the women in honor of this event. Firecrackers, gifts, and a lot of eating is also part of the celebration, according to a brochure given out at the program.
To show everyone their traditional, delicious foods of India, a dinner was provided at the program Saturday. Anbajura said about 80 percent of the ticket sales went toward the food.
The purpose of the program was to let everyone know more about Diwali, why it is celebrated, to make the students from India feel closer to home, and to give a piece of the Indian culture to everyone, Anbajura said.
Amin said, “People will come and people will go, but I hope that Diwali will remain an integral part of Utah State for many years to come.”
Graduate school Dean Thomas Kent, spoke during Diwali and said, “We have come here tonight to experience a wonderful culture.”
Ryan Barlow, a senior majoring in marketing, said he heard about Diwali from his co-worker who is from India.
“I think it is a good way to see how people from different places do things in different ways,” he said.
-kbanks@cc.usu.edu
Dancers raise their arms during the Bhangra dance at the Diwali celebration Saturday. The celebration included dances, music and dinner. (Photo by Micheal Sharp)