The Indian International Student Union (IISU) held its annual South Asian cultural showcase Tamasha last Saturday, Feb. 4. Students and family members alike gathered eagerly in the Osterhout Concert Theater located in the Anderson Center to watch a variety of intoxicating performances.
The night was packed with a variety of performances including Binghamton Bhangra — a coed competitive dance team that represents a traditional folk dance from the Indian state of Punjab, Bollywood Beats — Binghamton University’s first premier South Asian a capella group and Garba — a recently added event to Tamasha that focuses on a folk dance originating from Gujarat, India. There were also performances done by BU’s Latin dance team Quimbamba, Black Dance Repertoire and Stony Brook University’s Bollywood fusion dance team, Junoon. The show ran from 6:30 p.m. to 10:30 p.m.
The evening opened up with the freshman dance — a performance put on by the IISU freshman class. It set the stage for the rest of the show as everyone brought the high energy and enthusiasm that Tamasha is known for.
Riya Mohan, a freshman representative of IISU majoring in political science, described her experience at the event.
“So I’m a terrible dancer, I will be the first to say that,” Mohan said. “This is the first time I’ve ever had to perform an actual dance or learn dancing in general. Nadia was the choreographer this year, and she did a really good job teaching us, and she was so patient with me. All of us coming together and performing was such a nice experience.”
Mohan also helped choreograph Bollywood Beats along with Shaarang Sawale, co-cultural chair of IISU and a sophomore majoring in computer science.
“Because Tamasha is such a dance central event, I think it’s also good that we have that representation of the singing aspect of things,” Mohan said. “I know Shaarang is really good at singing and it was a lot of fun to choreograph it with him. It’s definitely a different experience than choreographing dance but I think it’s worth it.”
Each year Tamasha centers itself around a different theme. Past concepts have included “The Bachelor,” “Harry Potter” and “The Avengers.” This year’s Tamasha theme was “Stranger Things.”
Laya Mathai, IISU vice president and a senior majoring in biology, explains the inspiration behind this year’s theme.
“We always try to pick a relevant pop culture theme every year,” Mathai said. “We’ve been throwing around ‘Stranger Things’ for a while and this year just finally stuck. I think it also helps that season four came out recently.”
Tamasha incorporates their theme through comedic skits which are pre-filmed and performed by IISU members to then be shown in between dance numbers. This year’s skit involved a close-knit friend group at BU coming together to defeat their biggest enemy, Vecna, while simultaneously dealing with the mysterious alternate reality — the Upside Down.
What makes these skits so memorable and enjoyable for the audience are the interwoven references to South Asian culture. Throughout the scenes, Vecna was known as “the jalebi man” which alludes to one of South Asia’s most well-known desserts — in turn making this joke instantly land for a majority of the audience. Furthermore, the subtle notes of Hindi when a character became mad or annoyed added a level of humor that reverberated throughout the theater.
Tamasha also makes an effort to include interactive games which involve audience participation such as guessing the Bollywood movie from a specific song or bringing individuals up on stage to take part in little activities that could win them a prize. This added an engaging element to the event while also leaving room for surprise.
The night ended with a heartfelt tribute to IISU’s senior class, followed by Tamasha’s fashion show event that allows for different groups of performers to demonstrate what being a modern South Asian student means to them through short and fun-filled dance routines with friends.
Mathai reflects on this being her last year participating in Tamasha.
“I think it still hasn’t hit me yet,” Mathai said. “It’s been really cool because my freshman year I was in Tamasha so to see it at Chamber Hall and then we went on Zoom and then last year bringing it back and then this year growing it even bigger. IISU’s growth has been exponential.”
Mohan explains her perspective on the success of this year’s Tamasha.
“Seeing this year was insane,” Mohan said. “The entire E-board is so proud of what we’ve been able to accomplish. Coming in at that Osterhout Concert Theater stage already, I can’t imagine what the future holds for Tamasha and IISU in general.”