Indian students celebrate through dance
More than 100 members of the Indian Students Association gathered in the Sunburst Lounge Saturday night to celebrate Nav Ratri, or Nine Nights.
“We are in a foreign country,” Charles Mellala, the association’s president said. “It’s good to get a chance to remember our festivals and get a chance to celebrate it with all our friends.”
Shyam Kumar, an ISA member, said gatherings like Saturday’s are special for the Indian community at Utah State University, because a majority of the students are in graduate school and don’t have time for such celebrations.
“It’s great,” Kumar said. “It’s really great. We don’t get many opportunities to meet like this.”
Most popular in Gujarat, a state in northern India, Nav Ratri features prayer to Durga, an Indian goddess who takes the shape of a tigress, for mental, physical and spiritual strength.
After the prayer, students joined in dancing the Garbat and the Dandiya, a dance where each participant hits two sticks together rhythmically, before eventually breaking out into the Macarena – a distinctly non-Indian dance.
Kumar said the association is gearing up for its largest celebration, the annual Diwali on Oct. 23.
“We are looking forward,” Kumar said. “We will be selling the tickets within a week or two. We are hoping it will be great”
Kumar said tickets for the event generally sellout quickly.
-acf@cc.usu.edu