The Student Center's ballroom was filled with well over 100 people for Diwali, Sunday night. This party, held by the Indian Student Association, was for the Hindi holiday.
Diwali is a festival of light and celebrated a victory of good over evil, Murali Jujjavarapu, the association’s president said,
"Our ultimate goal is to provide diversity and to allow everyone," Shruti Somani, vice president of communications for the association, said.
By the D.J., there was a poster of the goddess Lakshmi. She is the wife of the god Siva. According to tradition, Diwali is the date that she defeated a particularly nasty demon. Since then, she's traditionally been used as a manifestation of the victory of good over evil.
"It's [about] bringing happiness into the family, that's what Lakshmi represents." Himaja Ramayanam, former president of the association, said.
The candle in front of the goddess was lit and the faithful performed Aarthi. This is a Hindi worship practice, where a candle is ritualistically waved in front of the image of the goddess, in this case Lakshmi, and believers lined up to wave their hands in front of the heat, as part of the worship process. Deviational music played softly in the background.
There were a number of performances through the night.
Muneez Patel, a Pakistani singer performed two songs for the first act in Hindi. After that, there was a dance performance by 2 more students and a very stylistic dance by Roopkathe Pallye. Halfway through, she was joined by Patel, who danced with her dandiyas, decorated sticks incorporated into dancing.
Indian food was served including various curry, rice, flat bread and chicken dishes. The food was a big hit, it was wiped out.
After dinner, attendees playe bingo. There were 8 winners, who walked away with t-shirts and flash drives and headphones, supplied by the student government and college of arts & sciences. After that, the dance floor opened.
