University of Kentucky students celebrated Indian culture and heritage with dancing, food and music at the first-ever Desi Ball: Maharaja’s Ball.
Held at the Gatton Student Center on Saturday, April 12 and hosted by UK’s competitive Bollywood Fusion Dance Team, Kentucky Karana, the dance allowed students to learn more about Indian culture through common cultural traditions.
The ball provided a space for Indian and non-Indian students alike to learn more about Indian traditions and customs, according to Tanish Garg, the president of Kentucky Karana.
Garg said she was met with a lot of prejudice against her culture growing up as an Indo-American person, saying she wanted to organize the event to help others learn about her culture.
“I think we should spread the beauty of Indian culture through college here and just show everyone how beautiful all our culture is,” Garg said.
Garg said the dance was meant to incorporate American culture and Indian culture, saying the event was inspired by traditional American proms, allowing attendees to “relive high school memories.”
The attendees were provided with traditional Indian cuisine, which included panipuri, a common Indian street food, according to Garg.
Lalitha Kannan, the mother of a UK student, said she traveled from Owensboro for the event, saying she attended the ball to experience Indian culture on campus as well as meet her son’s friends.
“I love that UK is giving them permission to conduct such events on campus,” Kannan said. “There are other students (here)who are non-Indians who attended this, so it’s like they also get to know about Indian culture.”

Freshman electrical engineering major, Max Rice, said he was interested in the dance after hearing about it from a classmate and having an interest in the culture.
According to Rice, the event allowed him to explore cultures he was not familiar with.
“The dance means a lot. Where I’m from, there’s not a whole lot of experiences like this,” Rice said. “I really enjoyed it.”
Roshna Bastola and Rakshya Upreti, both undergraduates at UK and both of Nepali descent, said the ball allowed them to connect with students of similar cultures and heritages on campus.
“I think it’s a really good opportunity to just engage with your culture in a more meaningful way and to have fun,” Bastola said. “But in a way that is meaningful to you and close to you.”
Vice President of Kentucky Karana and event organizer, Riya Mariyam Roy, said her job at the event was to demonstrate the art of henna to event-goers at her booth.
By being able to highlight her culture and heritage, Roy said the event allowed people less educated about Indian culture to learn about and enjoy their traditions.
“I feel like some brown kids are embarrassed of their culture, like feeling that they might get shamed for it,” Roy said. “I feel like every culture is unique on its own so everyone should be embracing their culture, and this is an opportunity for that.”