Diwali draws large crowd

The Hindu Students' Council (HSC) celebrated the beginning of the Hindu New Year with Diwali Dhamaka Saturday, Nov. 2, in Levering Hall. The event featured a dance medley and the traditional dance Raas performed by students, live music provided by the group Khoor Mandhir and Indian food catered by Akhbar's Restaurant.

"Diwali marks the beginning of the Hindu New Year," said sophomore and HSC board member Ayush Batra. "It is the Festival of Lights."

The Diwali celebration began with Manu Sharma and Nikita Japra singing Bhajans, which are Hindu devotional songs. The celebration continued with performances of two dances, an Indian dance medley composed of clips from nine separate songs and the traditional Raas.

Sixty-four Hopkins undergraduates participated in the medley.

HSC board member Barkha Gurbani, who organized the medley, said, "My sophomore year, I decided to organize the medley so that whoever wanted to could participate. It was only 34 people [when I began], but it was still amazing, and I think they all appreciated it. This year, I think people saw it last year and they really wanted to do it again."

Many individuals who attended the celebrations wore traditional clothing. Females generally wore lenghas, long dresses studded with sequins, and males wore kurtas, which are composed of long pants and a long top.

Sophomore Evita Belmonte, who attended the event, stated, "The performers and non-performers wore colorful dresses, especially the females. They were long and looked layered and comfortable. The guys' attire was also interesting because they wore long tunics with pants."

Diwali has been celebrated for the past six years on the Homewood Campus.

"It was started by a couple of very over achieving HSC members," Gurbani. "There was nothing like it before, no protocol, nothing that they could fall back on, but they really wanted to celebrate and share Diwali, so they started it."

This year, Diwali was held in the Sherwood Room and the Great Hall as well as the Glass Pavilion.

"We took three rooms out instead of the traditional Glass Pavilion. It's become one of the biggest events on campus, and it's a great way to spread culture, to share stories about the mythology of Diwali," HSC board member Nina Marupudi stated.

Gurbani added: "We basically took over all of Levering, the first floor. Diwali was initiated in the Glass Pavilion, with basically two rows of chairs in the back. It's just been the publicity over the last couple of years has kept on growing and growing. Now, it seems like everybody on campus knows about it, at least, even if they don't come," Gurbani stated.

Members of the Hindu Students' Council spent a month and a half preparing for Diwali. Those who headed the effort to organize Diwali were Barkha Gurbani, Jona Bandyopadjyay, Amit Vora, Manu Sharma, Neeraj Modi and Suman Sureshbabu. Gurbani and Bandyopadjyay headed the decorations committee, Sureshbabu was in charge of the publicity committee, Vora headed the food committee, Sharma lead the fundraising committee and Modi organized entertainment.

"We started [planning for Diwali] the week we got here," Gurbani said. "Our first Aarathi, our first prayer, we announced Diwali Dhamaka. We handed out a flyer about what it's about, how people could sign up."

To receive funding for Diwali Dhamaka, the Hindu Students' Council worked in conjunction with the Student Activities Comission (SAC) and Homewood Student Affairs (HSA).

Manu Sharma, one of the co-chairs of the fundraising committee for Diwali, said, "Neeraj Modi and I went to the SAC to request funding. We have [also] gone to Homewood Student Affairs." The Inter Faith Council also supported the HSC in organizing the event.

Diwali was publicized in a variety of ways.

"HSC publicized by lots of fliers, little quarter sheets in mailboxes; this year we put a banner in the breezeway. We also sent out e-mails to all the HSC members, the med school, the grad student organizations on campus," Gurbani stated.

Students who performed at Diwali spent weeks beforehand to prepare their dances. Students also spent hours decorating the area inside and outside Levering Hall on the day of the event.

"It took a lot of time to decorate the Glass Pavilion," sophomore Payal Patel said. "I know our dance was around two practices, and around two hours each every week for more than a month."

People who attended the event included students and faculty from all Hopkins divisions. Students also came from local universities, such as the University of Maryland, George Washington University and George Mason University.

Gurbani said, "At one point, I definitely felt like the Glass Pavilion, and the Great Hall, and all of Levering was taken over by people. It was completely packed, and guests ranged from grad students from Hopkins, people from the Public Health school and the Med school. If you look at it, it's not only Indians that come. Faculty came, Dean Boswell was there -- just everyone."

According to Gurbani, the HSC estimated turnout to be anywhere from 800 to 1000 people. The use of Levering Hall posed a few logistical problems because of the large turnout.

Gurbani said, "As everyone keeps on saying, we are outgrowing our venue. The problem with that is we really don't have another place on campus that would be suitable for the kind of ambiance, or the atmosphere, that we want for Diwali. We threw out the idea of getting the gym. It's just not the same feel. We definitely get more people than we ever expect, but the thing is where to bring it -- we don't know where else to put it."

When asked why she decided to participate in Diwali, Rebekah Heckman said, "I was awed by it. I thought it was colorful and just very joyous, and I wanted to be a part of it. The symbolism, which I still don't fully understand, makes it really unique.