Indian Student Association celebrates Navratri festival

Senior Meghna Mirchandani watched as her fellow Indian classmates exuberantly danced in celebration of the yearly Navratri festival. \nMirchandani, the president of the Indian Student Association, said a lot of planning goes into making the Navratri a celebrated occasion on the IU campus. The event was held Friday at the Marriott hotel.\n"We've been holding (Navratri) ever since the ISA came into being," she said. "We think it's important to spread awareness about Indian culture. Also, our international students can't go home to celebrate it, so they have someplace here to celebrate."\nThe festival is marked by lively dances called the Garba and the Dandiya-Raas, during which the performers strike traditional wooden sticks called dandiyas against other sticks held by the other dancers.\n"It started in Gujarat, but it has become mainstream, a celebration for all of India," said junior Tripti Singh, who is a member of the ISA. "It is a homecoming, a celebration of life." \nTraditionally held in October, the festival is one of joy, commemorated by eclectic music and frenetic group dances. \n"In Bombay, they have thousands of people who dance the Garba," Singh said. "The people dance in the fields for days."\nThe Garba dances consist of several people forming a circle around the idol Durga, the Divine Mother, and are performed in her worship. \nParticipants also danced the Dandiya-Raas with ceremonial dandiya sticks.\nAlmost everyone at the event wore traditional Indian clothes. These elaborate ensembles are made of traditional skirts, called lenghas for women or the salwar khameez for men. Many women also wear the salwar khameez. The khameez is the top part of the traditional garb. Salwar is a type of loose-fitting trouser, very long and elegant. Also, many women wear a sari, which is a long piece of fabric, often silk and died in rich colors such as red or blue, worn over the body.\n"The festival is good because you can exercise your culture far away from home and meet a lot of new people," said sophomore Nidhi Kansal. \nThe festival will commence with Diwali, the Indian New Year. Diwali, the festival of lights, commemorates the day when lord Rama returns to Ayodhya. Citizens lit his way with earthen oil lamps, or diyas, and this event is re-created every year by lighting rows of diyas and candles.\nISA will celebrate Diwali later this semester. Tryouts to perform at Diwali will be held at 6 p.m. Friday in the McNutt Flame Room.\n-- Contact staff writer Olivia Morales at ormorale@indiana.edu.