The 'Festival of Lights'

The glowing stage was the physical center of the Diwali celebration Saturday night, but the focal point was the exuberant crowd, which at times nearly overpowered the voices of the performers at the Buskirk-Chumley Theater.\nPerformers entered from the back, carrying candles through the dimly lit crowd, and slowly filed onto the stage to stand as a group. Bejeweled and dressed in traditional Indian clothing, about 50 stood before an eager crowd of hundreds. \nDiwali, the Hindu festival of lights, is a celebration of the Indian New Year. The Indian Student Association annually celebrates Diwali by putting on a performance, and this year, the show included 10 cultural songs and dances, as well as a crowd that never stopped showing its enthusiasm.\n"It's the most important festival in Hindu culture," said sophomore Charu Subramanian, cultural chair of the Indian Student Association. "It's full of light, full of happiness, and it's the celebration of the birth of good and the destruction of evil."\nAfter the audience members took their seats, the performers filed in with candles.\nWhen the lights were blown out and the Indian national anthem sung, the first act began. \nSophomore Jasmine Singh performed a dance that was intended to be a prayer to Lord Nataraja and a dedication to her grandfather. \nJewels decorating her face, Singh wore bells on her feet that jingled with her every step. It took her more than two and a half hours to dress for the show, she said.\nLike the majority of the performances, Singh's dance lasted only a few minutes and filled the theater with the hum of Hindu music. Cheers erupted from a crowd of about 300 that included the \nperformers' family and friends, as well as IU students and Bloomington residents who came for a taste of something new. \n"I don't think the University celebrates diversity enough," said sophomore Ediri Metitiri, who came to the Diwali festival in support of a friend, and to dip into the Hindu culture. \nOther acts featured the show included a dance by the IU Theta Nu Xi Multicultural Sorority, a hip-hop dance sequence by the Asian American Association and a vocal performance by the School of Music's International Vocal Ensemble. \n"I thought it was a great turnout, especially because this is such a small venue," said sophomore Kimberly Shrack, a Theta Nu Xi performer. "The show was amazing." \nWhile the cultural dancing and singing is what the crowd came for, seniors Priya Patel and Ravi Patel, the emcees for the evening, provided all the comic relief necessary by playing clips of a homemade film that showed them on a quest to find Ravi Patel's Indian culture. \nThe show's grand finale was put on by the IU Bhangra Team and was by far the most extravagant performance of the Diwali celebration. At one point in the dance, the performers even pulled out chrome rims and used them as props. As the music boomed, the crowd was on its feet as the last dance came to an end and the performers were once again in the aisles, this time jumping and dancing in a last bout of celebration for the Diwali holiday.\n"We were so happy to see such a diverse crowd of people here," Priya Patel said. "That's what we like to do, reach out and let others know about our religion and let others know who we are"