More 100 students gathered to dance and eat in the Old Union on Saturday night to celebrate the Indian festival of lights.
The sold-out Diwali event was hosted by the Binghamton University Hindu Student Council (HSC). Diwali is a festival of lights, and celebrates how good can overcome evil and ignorance. Throughout the night, attendees mingled while music played, food was served and traditional dances were performed.
Arianna Goberdhan, vice president of HSC and a junior majoring integrative neuroscience, said the event was a way to expose BU to Indian and Hindu culture and give those who wanted to celebrate a place to do so.
“We put on this event to increase cultural awareness on campus and to extend Hinduism to those students who aren’t particularly aware of all of our traditions,” Goberdhan said. “Diwali is the festival of lights, so we’re trying to celebrate bringing light into your own life and being thankful for everything that has happened over the past year.”
While the HSC has hosted Diwali celebrations in the past, this year’s event was promoted to a broader audience. Kirin Kaur, the president of HSC and a junior majoring in integrative neuroscience, said they tried to attract a more diverse audience this year by tabling in the Marketplace and telling students around campus about the event.
“We advertised everywhere we possibly could, not just to a particular crowd,” Kaur said. “We tried to make it a diverse group of people so that more people could actually learn about the event and learn about what the holiday is.”
Masti, BU’s all-female Bollywood fusion dance team, performed first with a mixture of songs, such as Beyoncé as well as more traditional Indian music. Ashwin Shenoy, a senior majoring in computer science, said his favorite part of the dance was the dance team’s energy. He added that the mixture of hip-hop and Bollywood dance energized the crowd, especially when two dancers performed flips.
“I felt like they brought energy to the whole program,” Shenoy said. “They started it all up with a bang.”
BU’s Bhangra dance team performed next, wearing colorful clothes and playing saaps, a wooden musical instrument used in Bhangra dances.
Ngawang Dolma, a sophomore majoring in biology and one of the Bhangra dancers, wanted people to understand the amount of work that went into the choreography and performance.
“I want people to take away how much effort and time we put into making the performance big and wild,” Dolma said.
Sameerah Shaik, a freshman majoring in integrative neuroscience, said that she felt the event was important because it brought people together while also celebrating an important festival in Indian culture.
“It brings everyone together as a community, and it spreads cultural awareness,” Shaik said. “Especially for Diwali because it’s one of India’s major festivals.”
After the performances, guests then made their way to the buffet table where they were served traditional Indian food from The Royal Indian restaurant, consisting of rice, chicken and shrimp. The rest of the evening, friends took pictures, enjoyed the cuisine and celebrated a festival that some guests said reminded them of home.
“I wanted to celebrate Diwali with my friends since I couldn’t be home this year,” said Ayeesha Kakkar, a sophomore majoring in biology. “It’s like bringing a little part of home back to campus.”