Festival celebrates Indian holiday

By Cassidy Herrington

The Student Center Grand Ballroom transformed into an Indian oasis with smells of spices and sights of dazzling saris.

The Indian Student Association hosted a dinner and talent show Saturday night, celebrating Diwali, the Indian festival of lights.

Diwali, one of the largest festivals of Hindus, is celebrated for five straight days with the third day, the day of lights, as the main celebration, according to the Society for the Confluence of Festivals of India Web site.

The show featured dancing, singing and comedy sketches.  Between acts, the show hosts demonstrated the “10 ways to be an Indian,” acting out playful stereotypes of Indian culture.

ISA Publicity Manager Suvid Joshi, held several roles in the show, including planning, hosting and dancing, and said the event provided educational aspects.

“There are so many myths and things that even Indians don’t even know about Indians,” Joshi said. “Every state is almost divided on the basis of language, people don’t know how to understand each other.”

Vamsi Deepkanth Nallamothu, president of ISA, said the organization hosts several events throughout the year.

“We show Indian culture in every event we have,” Nallamothu said. “We think it’s important to learn different diversities and cultures from India.”

The mixed assortment of performances and displays of culture was comparable to the diversity within India, Joshi said.

For more information on the ISA and its events, visit, (http://sweb.uky.edu/StudentOrgs/ISA/).