On the evening of Oct. 29, Michigan Tech hosted the grand event of “Diwali Night 2016,” an event that celebrates a week-long festival of “Deepavali” meaning “Festival of Lights,” from the Indian culture. There are several reasons why the Festival of Diwali is celebrated all over the world by the Hindu community, but mostly it is commemorated as the Homecoming of Lord Ram to Ayodhya after fourteen years of exile and defeating the evil king Ravana. To celebrate, Hindu people light up their houses with diyas (earthen lamps) and decorate their neighborhoods.
This year, the Indian Students Association made sure that Tech students from different parts of India did not miss much of the celebrations from back home. The food at the event was on par with the authentic Indian traditional food and was much appreciated even by many non-Indian people at the event. Also, it was a very apt occasion for people to flaunt their traditional Indian clothing and undoubtedly they made the most out of it.
The Rozsa Center hosted performances for Diwali Night. There were multiple dancing and singing performances and a very nice skit about the journey of Indian students that kept the audience entertained throughout the event. Singing performances, specifically “Bulleya” by Suryanshu and “Fix You” by Coldplay covered by Aseem Upadhyay received huge appreciation from the audience. The dance performances flawlessly exhibited the grace of Indian cultural dances and the zest of Bollywood dance. They also enlightened people about the Festival of Diwali and its importance in Hindu culture with some nicely crafted videos. All the hard work of the Indian
Students Association paid off as the event was a hit. The artists who worked days and nights, weeks before the event had a moment of pride at the end of the night.Suryanshu Walvekar, a performer on the night said, “The appreciation, the positive response that we got from the audience is what keeps us encouraging every time to take out those extra hours from our busy schedule. Thanks to all the ISA members, the backstage crew and the audience who made it a grand event.”
Suryanshu Walvekar, a performer on the night said, “The appreciation, the positive response that we got from the audience is what keeps us encouraging every time to take out those extra hours from our busy schedule. Thanks to all the ISA members, the backstage crew and the audience who made it a grand event.”
The audience was all amazed and satisfied by this evening of celebration and joy. Many people who have been attending this event every year at Michigan Tech claimed that the celebrations, the quality of performances just gets better and better every year and the food never disappoints you. Many said they would surely be back here for the next years Diwali Night.
