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Diwali, SMU Style!

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I have celebrated Diwali, the Indian festival of lights, a few times before with family and friends.  Even though I was away from home, I got to experience the holiday in an evening of food, fun, and lots of performing, right on campus at Hughes-Trigg!

Diwali means many different things to Indian people: some celebrate it as the victory of Rama over Ravana from the epic Ramayana, others as the beginning of a new season.  When I would celebrate at my friend’s house, we would light candles and decorate the house with Christmas lights.  Traditionally, the holiday is a 5 day ceremony that includes the lighting of lamps, prayers to Lakshmi, the goddess of fortune, and time spent with family.  Interestingly, the Diwali at SMU was less traditional and more focused on putting on a good show, which makes sense because not everyone that came to the show practiced Hinduism or had any familiarity with the holiday.  This allowed the event to be much more inclusive and accessible to all of SMU’s students.

The event was hosted by SMU’s Indian Students Association and included groups of performers from both SMU and UTD.  I was in the fashion show, which was meant less to showcase any specific fashion but more for the members of ISA to be on stage and have a good time.  It was also an opportunity to show off our finest Indian garments, and many of us went all out with bright colors and jewelry.  Other performances included singing, a Diya dance by the freshman girls, a classical dance number, and of course a bhangra team!  Many people, Indian and non-Indian, were in attendance and I felt that the showcase was a great way to share many aspects of Indian culture.  After all of the performances, we enjoyed a delicious Indian buffet and got to dance even more.  My friends that weren’t familiar with Diwali thought that the entire event was entertaining and really liked the food.

Something I realized during the show was the importance of dance.  There were at least 5 different dance performances, each one a unique style.  Some were more traditional: the Diya dance was representational of the lights of Diwali and three dancers from UTD did a classical routine.  Others were more modern, such as the lively Bhangra and Brown Town, who danced to Bollywood music.  I thought that the presentation of all the different kinds of dance really highlighted how integral dance has been to the culture for a long time.

While it wasn’t a Diwali celebration exactly like the ones I had growing up, the SMU Diwali was still a great way to spend an evening and connect myself more to Indian culture.  I hope that I can continue to enjoy and be a part of SMU’s Diwali celebration during the rest of my time at SMU.  I am also looking forward to the ISA’s next event, a dance competition called R2B2.  I encourage everyone to check out next year’s Diwali if they missed the one this year, it was so much fun and I can’t wait for the next one!

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