MASTI 2006 to kick off today

Don't be surprised by the sound of bhangra music or cricket balls whizzing around -- MASTI starts today.\nStudents will arrive at IU from all over the country today for MASTI 2006, a conference for Southeast Asian students.\nThe conference, which starts tonight and ends Sunday, will feature a series of competitions and cultural events.\n"We're trying to get South Asians to celebrate their culture together," said MASTI 2006 Chairwoman Nidhi Singhal, an IU senior.\nThis year's conference will include cricket and basketball tournaments, a team dance competition, a performance by Punjabi musician Bikram Singh and a dinner.\nSinghal said the cricket tournament will be especially popular.\n"Cricket has gotten very, very popular, and we're excited to promote it," she said. "We don't have (cricket) here in the U.S., so it's a real treat to watch."\nSinghal said Bikram Singh's performance will also be a highlight. She said Singh is hugely popular in Europe and has the No. 1 album on the United Kingdom charts in the South Asian category. Singh is a self-described "modern \nreincarnation of Punjabi folk music."\nStarted in 1998, MASTI is run by IU's Indian Student Association. The word masti means "fun" in Hindi.\nStudents from all over the Midwest are expected to attend the conference, including groups from Purdue and Ohio State universities.\nA group from OSU, American Awaaz (awaaz means "voice" in Hindi), will also perform. Singhal said she sees American Awaaz as a mixture of two cultures -- American and Indian -- and that many participants will be able to relate to the group.\nThe dinner, held Saturday night in McNutt Quad, will feature a Bollywood theme. Bollywood is the nickname for the Indian movie industry.\nRegistration was $30 for Indian Student Association members and $35 for other participants, but the cost was raised to $35 for members and $40 for nonmembers who register late. MASTI has a block of hotel reservations for out-of-town participants. \nAbout 400 students from the Midwest and as far away as California attended last year's MASTI, according to an\nIndiana Daily Student article.\nPast MASTI conferences had celebrity appearances including comedian Russel Peters and Penn Masala, an all-male Indian a capella group.\nThose interested in attending the conference can still register from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. today in the Oak Room in the Indiana Memorial Union.