Students get Diwali with it

Everything from the traditional Indian dressing of the guests to the customary Diwali performances were on display at the Seretean Center on Friday night.

Diwali Night, a traditional celebration of light in India, was held from 6:45 p.m. until 9, which was well over the regularly scheduled time.

Rohit Kadam, president of the Indian Student Association, said ISA was pleased with the attendance at Diwali Night.

"We're excited about the turn out," Kadam said. "We've sold 500 tickets, and we've had 600 people show up tonight."

The ISA awarded OSU professor Jason Kirksey, vice president of the Institute of Diversity, and Mayor Nathan Bates with a plaque that had the OSU scroll on it as a token of their appreciation of the two men for their promotion of multicultural initiative and diversity.

The first performance, an elegant dance known as Baharatanatyam, was performed by.

This particular dance piece describes the virtues of Indian god Ganapathi — usually seen with an elephant's head — who is the destroyer of evil and bestower of success.

Other traditional performances included Navaraagamaalika, a composition of nine melody patterns called raagas. Bharatwaj played the melodies on the flute with modernized western music accompanying him.

The Malaysian 24 Season Drummers shared their earthy energy with the crowd for the first time at Diwali Night.

"We've never performed for Diwali Night before," drummer Al Saloha said. "I was nervous, excited. Mostly I was extremely happy to perform what we've been practicing for at least three weeks."

After a brief intermission, the audience enjoyed some of India's westernized, contemporary performances as well as guest performances from the African Student Organization, and the Napalese Student Association.

In the last performance, which tied in the meaning of Diwali, Golden Sparkels incorporated Diya lights into its flexible dance moves leaving the audience with a residue of the spirit of India.

"You could see that there was more to the culture with the different performances," said Amelia Wilson, a mechanical engineering freshman. "You could see that there are many cultures that make up one India."