Indian Student Association draws big crowd with Diwali event
Swathi Chitrapu has traveled over 70 miles due to her love of culture and dance. The Lansing native was just one of the many featured dancers in the Indian Student Association’s Diwali celebration in the UC on Sunday.
“I love dancing. That’s my passion.” Chitrapu said. “My cousin is studying here and she let me know about the (event).”
Studying traditional style dancing since a very young age, Chintrapu found herself contacted by a cousin at CMU who urged her to participate within the festival. Dressed from head to toe in jewels and yellow garments, Chitrapu stated that cultural garb and jewelry signified “the beauty of (Indian) culture”.
The Diwali festival highlighted food, dance, fashion, and culture traditionally found in India. The Indian Student Association’s vice president, Santosh Kotha, stated that the event cost the group roughly $5000 to put on. Through fundraising and help by the Student Government Association, it was all made possible.
“We were raising funds because Indian events took a lot of money in the previous years.” Kotha said. “For food we spent $3,200 and overall expenses were around $5000.”
The dancers practiced for nearly a month before hand in Rose Hall before moving to the UC Rotunda for their final dress rehearsals. Roughly 10 different dances were performed with several different traditional styles being highlighted.
Students, faculty, staff, and Mt. Pleasant residents alike gathered in the ballroom to experience to the festival. Amy Little, a lecturer at CMU in the English Language Institute, was so intrigued by the event that she even brought along her daughter.
“They had henna a couple of weeks ago and my daughter got some henna,” Little said. “(The ISA) gave us a card and we made sure we put it on our calendar.”
Little was so impressed with the event that she said she would make a point to come back next year.
“We want to celebrate Diwali, as usual,” Kotha said, in regards to the atmosphere of the event.
This is the ISA’s tenth year putting on the Diwali event and ninth year featuring a dance and celebration.
When asked about future Diwali plans, Kotha stated that he envisioned an even bigger, more inclusive festival which incorporated Indian individuals from all over the state.
“There are many Indians around Mt. Pleasant and Mid-Michigan, in Midland Saginaw, East Lansing,” Kotha said. “Next time we want to celibrate with all these people from all over these places.”
