On Saturday, Apr. 10, the Southern Asian Student Association (SASA) hosted a celebration entitled “Once Upon a Time in Bollywood.” On the walls of the front of the Newbold Auditorium, various flags represented different countries in the South Asian diaspora, such as India, Sri Lanka, Pakistan, Bangladesh, the Maldives and Afghanistan. AU students socially distanced in Newbold Auditorium to experience the cultural event.
Steven Injety (junior, data science), the president of SASA for the 2020-2021 school year, thanked the club members, the sponsors for the event and the attendees. He shared that the purpose of SASA cultural night was for South Asian students to partake in joyously expressing their culture so that the audience had the opportunity to get a glimpse of diverse cultures that have existed for roughly 6,000 years. He added that there were around 1.9 billion people in the world who identified as South Asian, which solidifies how diverse the culture truly is.
The SASA members performed various South Asian songs. The first number was the Tamil song “Vaseegara” by Bombay Jayashri, from the movie Minnale. The Tamil culture originates from Tamil Nadu and is present in South India and the north of Sri Lanka. Members accompanied the singing with the flute, cajon, and piano. Another group of SASA members presented the Tamil song entitled “Kolaveri,” which discusses pain and struggle. Various percussion instruments, the trumpet, the guitar, and the piano provided the upbeat background music for the lyrics of the song. Mr. Injety taught the audience the lyrics, and they joined in during the second rendition of the song. The final song was “Tujh mein rabh dikta,” Hindu for “I see God in You.” In this song, the love interest tells the woman he loves that he sees God in her eyes. The two gentlemen who were singing that song gave roses to two individuals in the audience.
Next, club members participated in the Bhangra Challenge, a Punjabi dance from the Sikh-influenced culture. First, SASA showed a Bhangra Challenge TikTok, then informed the three audience-member participants that the winner would receive a monetary prize. There were four different dances of various difficulty levels. The audience voted on who the winner of the challenge would be. The audience actively supported the dancers by enthusiastically clapping and cheering.
Following the challenge, various TikTok videos highlighted the beauty of South Asian culture touched on topics such as weddings, clothing and makeup, Desi snacks, dances and differences between Bhangra and Bollywood dances. SASA club members also created their own Tiktok videos to share with the audience as well.
During the intermission, SASA members handed out pre-packaged warm samosas, chai and mango lassi. After the intermission, the next item of the program was the fashion show. It was complete with vibrant multicolored stage lights and music. Then Timmy Duado (junior, marketing) shared information about the models, where they were from, and cultural facts about the clothing they were wearing. The audience clapped in support.
Joya Dean (freshman, biochemistry) was one of the models in the fashion show. She expressed, “I enjoyed my experience in the fashion show. I thought it was fun and a good experience even though it was out of my comfort zone. I was thankful that my friends told me to do it. My friend picked [my outfit] out for me, and I thought the colours were alluring.” She wore an elegant blue and white sari, with an embellished skirt, separate skirt, and scarf.
Two dance numbers were performed at the event. The first dance was presented by Solana Campbell (freshman, business administration). She wore an exquisite outfit with a swirling skirt. The final dance number was a choreographed upbeat number involving various partners. The ladies wore black shirts and brightly colored skirts, while the gentlemen wore crisp white dress shirts and black pants. The audience cheerfully clapped to the music while the partners danced across the stage.
Michael Brodis (sophomore, computer science) was an attendee at the event. He commented, “I thoroughly enjoyed the event. The dancing was invigorating, and the place exuded great vibes. I was glad that the event could happen despite COVID-19.”
Rithesh Ram (junior, speech-language pathology) is the current assistant event coordinator of SASA for 2020-2021. He declared, “I love being a part of SASA and bringing awareness to the AAPI (Asian American Pacific Islander) community, and I desire to show that we are more than a stereotype. We must come together for a bigger cause and for people to show their support for our community.”
For more information about upcoming SASA events, follow the SASA Instagram page @au.sasa_.
The Student Movement is the official student newspaper of Andrews University. Opinions expressed in the Student Movement are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the opinions of the editors, Andrews University or the Seventh-day Adventist church.