Indian New Year celebrated by student group with performances

The Indian Student Association will celebrate Diwali this Saturday with music, dance and food at Bloomington High School North. Diwali, the Indian New Year, is commonly known as the Hindu Festival of Lights.\nDuring Diwali, which means "rows of lighted lamps," Indians thoroughly clean their houses and decorate them with lights. Windows are left open to welcome Lakshmi, the goddess of wealth and beauty, and gifts are exchanged.\nDiwali actually took place last Friday, but the ISA was unable to get a venue to hold their celebration on that day. Senior Dave Dhar, senior advisor with ISA, said this Saturday was the soonest they were able to get a venue to hold their celebration. \n"The hardest part of our association we have is booking a venue," Dhar said. "IU Auditorium is obviously way too expensive and way too big for us and other venues are too small and don't have a cafeteria to serve food with."\nDhar said many other student groups have also had issues booking venues on campus. ISA considered holding the event at Alumni Hall in the Indiana Memorial Union to attract more students, but the group wouldn't be allowed to bring in outside food. A major part of the celebration is the free Indian food provided to everyone who attends.\n"We'd really like to have it on campus so more students can get involved," Dhar said. "It was between having a show on campus that was compromised due to the fact that we couldn't have authentic Indian cuisine or having a show off campus that had the correct venue at the cost of losing some people on campus."\nDhar encouraged students unable to drive to the event to contact ISA through its Web site, www.iub.edu/~isa, for a ride. The group will be providing a shuttle service for students.\nThe Diwali celebration highlights student groups performing dance and musical numbers on the stage of BHSN Auditorium.\n"This is a night of Indian talent," said junior Nidhi Minni Singhal, ISA's public relations chair. \nThe celebration includes seven different acts ranging from Indian dancing and singing to an explanation of Diwali by Professor Sumit Ganguly, who teaches political science and Indian cultures and civilizations. \n"People will be coming from all over the place -- Chicago, IUPUI and Purdue," Singhal said. "This is huge and we are expecting people from all over to attend."\nJunior Arun Bhattacharyya, ISA cultural chair, said the group expects 500 to 600 people to attend.\nAfter the presentation, students are invited to BSHN cafeteria to dine on five different authentic Indian dishes. Dhar encourages everyone to try the cuisine. He said people are often scared to try Indian dishes because of their reputation of being hot and spicy. He said while Indian food can be that way, it doesn't have to be.\n"We've done it purposefully so that everyone can come and enjoy it," Dhar said.\nSenior Meghna Mirchandani, ISA president, said a goal of the event was to raise awareness of diversity on campus.\n"This is a chance for students to learn all about Indian culture and get a true feel for this celebration," she said.\nThe Diwali celebration takes place at 7 p.m. Saturday at Bloomington High School North, 3901 North Kinser Pike. Admission is free, but there is a suggested donation of $5 to cover the cost of food.\n-- Contact staff writer Jaimie Cohen at jrcohen@indiana.edu.