Hopkins Raas 2014, a celebration of the Hindu festival of Navratri through music and dance, took place in the Glass Pavilion in Levering Hall on Sept. 20 from 6:30 p.m. until 11 p.m. The Indian Graduate Students’ Association (IGSA), the Hopkins Bengali Organization (HBO), the JHU Hindu Students Council (HSC) and South Asian Students at Hopkins (SASH) jointly coordinated the event. A diverse crowd of students, Indian and non-Indian alike, gathered on an open Dandiya Raas and Garba dance floor, feasted on a catered buffet of Indian delicacies and experienced a night of exuberant celebration.
Hopkins Raas 2014 was dedicated to the celebration of the Hindu holiday Navrati. Navrati, a festival celebrated over nine nights and 10 days, marks the beginning of the fall season and venerates the Hindu Goddess Durga. This year Navrati begins on Sept. 25 and ends on Oct. 3, to be followed soon after by the holiday of Diwali, the festival of light, which begins on Oct. 23. Navrati is traditionally celebrated with Garba and Dandiya, traditional styles of dance that both originated in the Indian province of Gujarat. Both of these dances were performed at Hopkins Raas 2014.
The first portion of the evening’s dancing was in the Garba style. The dance, intended to honor Durga, is performed in a circle in order to represent the Hindu view of time and the constant place of the goddess in an ever-changing universe.
Attendees, some dressed in colorful traditional saris and ghagar cholis, learned the steps of the dance from demonstrations by students from a number of dance groups, including Hopkins Hareepa, Masti and Shakti, and soon the floor was full of Hopkins students celebrating Indian culture through dance.
After the Garba portion of the evening was complete, the attendees gathered around the table in the center of the pavilion for a small Hindu prayer ceremony, the aarti. Meant to symbolize the light of the soul, this consisted of small candles placed atop a decorated plate, which were a sign of full surrender to and tremendous love for the goddess. Afterwards, two trays of prasad, a heavenly offering, were distributed amongst all present with the intention of bringing nourishment for the soul. After this ceremony was complete attendees exited the pavilion and went outside to get a traditional Indian meal.
Freshman Alex Eusman said he had been anticipating an exciting night.
“I came because I’m looking forward to great Indian food and dancing,” Eusman said.
After the Garba had ended and the traditional prayer ceremony had been conducted, attendees were served a catered buffet of Indian delicacies from Indigma, including samosas, chole, saag paneer and gulab jamun. Seated on the floor of the Glass Pavilion, those present listened to lively Indian music as they ate their meal.
The next portion of the evening’s dancing was in the Dandiya Raas form, which involved the use of pairs of 18-inch long sticks known as dandiyas. Dandiya dance traditionally represents scenes of Holi and leela of Krishna and Radha, and it is traditionally performed in concentric circles. On this occasion, however, it was performed in many long rows. Attendees learned how to clap sticks, performing a dance representative of the sword fight between Durga and Mahishasura, a demon king, with the sound of the dhol drum beating in the background. Circular groups also formed and found creative ways to dance with the dandiya sticks, spinning and making percussive beats in time with the Indian music. This variety of dance continued until 10 p.m. when the next portion of the evening commenced.
Many students had been looking forward to Hopkins Raas and the celebration of Navrati through the two popular folk dances, Garba and Dandiya Raas.
“Though we are all from different backgrounds and cultures, it is absolutely breathtaking to see how all at Hopkins can come together and celebrate the Indian culture today and others tomorrow,” Anwesha Dubey, a freshman member of South Asian Students at Hopkins (SASH) and JHU Hindu Students Council (HSC), said.
Freshman Pranshu Bhardwej enjoyed connecting with his Indian heritage through this event.
“Coming from high school, where there were not many Indians, to here, where there are more, is great,” Bhardwej said. “[Hopkins Raas is] going to be a good time.”
The last portion of the evening’s dances was freestyle and continued until the event ended at 11 p.m. The DJ spun a number of fast-paced Bollywood tunes while attendees demonstrated the moves they had learned throughout the night of traditional dancing, or they let go and followed the beat of the music.
Circles of enthusiastic dancers were formed as students gathered to practice their newly learned dance skills while moving along to the rhythms of the dhol and the DJ. At 11 p.m. the attendees returned to their dorms after a night of festive cultural celebration.
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