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This year’s Diversity Week at West Virginia University will kick off Saturday in the Mountainlair Ballrooms with the Tarang ’09 celebration and the Diwali Festival of Lights, a fitting opener for the week’s theme, "Let it Shine."
The Diwali festival has been part of Diversity Week for the past couple of years, presented by the WVU Indian Students Association.
For ISA, this is the school’s biggest Indian culture event of the year.
Kedar Panday, president of ISA, said the Diwali show is an event to be seen and remembered, especially this year.
"Back in India, Diwali happens on the darkest night of the year. The light festival symbolizes the path from darkness to brightness and is like a ray of hope," Panday said.
"When you are in light, you are surrounded by a lot of good things, not bad things. The festival makes the darkest night of the year very, very lit everywhere," Panday said. "Back in India we even let off lots of firecrackers to spread even more light."
According to executive committee member of the ISA, Sawan Prabhu, the event is something everyone can enjoy. "Though there are a lot of different symbolisms within this event, the main messages (are) unity, peace and bringing together families. It’s a pretty joyous occasion."
This year Panday and Prabhu insist that ISA is trying to get students to explore the culture more than ever before.
"It is our biggest and most publicized holiday, especially here at WVU," Prabhu said. "It’s along the same lines of Christmas, Kwanzaa and Hanukah, and almost every culture in India celebrates it."
Panday said that this year’s event will include a few changes and something new to look forward to.
"This year we are trying to make it more colorful and vibrant for international students. We are going to be presenting the differences in culture between North, South, East and West India," Panday said.
The event will also have a segment within the show called "Vibrant India," which Panday said is one of the most memorable moments of the festival.
Panday encourages all students to come and take part in the authentic Indian celebration, as well as Indian cuisine.
"I’ll suggest to everyone to not miss the delicious Indian dinner as well as the classical performances that will be put on afterward," he said. "And after the football game, the dance floor will be opened for everyone to dance to Indian music."
The Tarang ’09 celebration of the Diwali Festival of Lights will begin at 3 p.m. in the Mountainlair Ballrooms and won’t end until around midnight. According to Prabhu, the event is usually quite successful.
"Normally we expect around 700-800 people, though we have had around 1,000 people before. After being added as the main event of Diversity Week, we expect a great turnout," she said. "We do different dance styles, skits and musical pieces, and it’s just a great way for people to come together."
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