Colors swirled in the Glass Pavilion on Sunday, Oct. 26 as the South Asian Students at Hopkins (SASH) organization hosted its annual Garba celebration from 6 to 10 p.m. Garba, a collective dance with roots in Gujarat, India, is part of the larger Hindu festival Navratri which celebrates the supreme goddess Durga. Attendees gathered for a night of food, drinks and fun as samosas, pakora and mango lassi were served for guests during the celebration.
For students at Hopkins, the Garba celebration in autumn provides a break from the stress of a busy fall semester. Nitya Donthi, a sophomore studying Neuroscience, described some of the most memorable parts of the celebration for her in an interview with The News-Letter.
“The dancing, the food, dressing up, getting ready with friends — it’s just a really fun experience, and it’s a good break from everything,” Donthi explained.
Garba also helps students at Hopkins connect with their peers throughout a variety of social circles. Gaayathri Nadarajah, a sophomore studying Public Health, highlighted how important the event is for building community among South Asian Hopkins students in an interview with The News-Letter.
“Garba is a really great way to start off the year and really reconnect with SASH and all it has to offer,” Nadarajah said.
The celebration is one of the many events that SASH holds throughout the year, with a number of community-focused outreach efforts and engaging programming lining its calendar. In the spring, the organization hosts its SASH Formal, a dance event that aims to provide a similar space of communal joy. The club also hosts events such as panipuri (a fried Indian snack) eating contests and chai chats to further mental health advocacy for South Asian communities.
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SASH also aims to create a space for all Hopkins students from a variety of backgrounds to take part in South Asian celebrations. In an interview with The News-Letter, SASH Co-President Anant Mashalkar described the Garba celebration as a space for everyone at Hopkins to share a good time together.
“It’s a great place where people come together, even if you’re not from the same culture specifically. We just celebrate a common interest and a nice night together,” Mashalkar continued.
SASH Co-President Arindam Bagga also highlighted some of the group’s community-based programming in an interview with The News-Letter, describing one of the club’s monthly programs.
“We have chai chats every month [...] we invite people to just come share their thoughts on [mental and physical health, as well as] cultural issues,” Bagga explained.
Another highlight of the club’s programming is the ability of South Asian students at Hopkins to share traditions specific to their cultures with other South Asian students who haven’t celebrated them before. Garba is specifically a Gujarati dance, so students who haven’t partaken in the event are able to experience the celebration for themselves. SASH Programming Chair Arjun Jasuja shared his own experience in an interview with The News-Letter.
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“I really didn’t celebrate [Garba] before coming to Hopkins, but now... I celebrate with my friends who are Gujarati, and it’s a really interesting way to see their specific culture within India,” Jasuja said.
SASH encourages students to keep an eye on its upcoming events, especially its aforementioned chai chats and panipuri eating contests, the latter of which can be entered for only $4 and provides access to all-you-can-eat servings of the fried snack. Details about the SASH Formal and further events can be found on Hopkins Groups or on Instagram at @jhusash.
