Jesse Hall Auditorium hosted India Nite, a cultural celebration filled with Indian dance, on Oct. 17.
India Nite is an annual Indian cultural festival put on by the University of Missouri’s Cultural Association of India.
According to their facebook page, the organization was first created in 1957 to foster the many aspects of Indian Culture and “promote cross cultural understanding through various programs and events on the campus and beyond.”
India Night is one of those cross-cultural events, as many people besides Indians attend the event and enjoy its display of the many different regional Indian cultures.
“I’ve been to India Nite for the past 3 years and each time it gets better and better,” Junior Sarah Bai said. “As someone who otherwise would have no exposure to Indian culture, it’s a great way to hear traditional music and dances. I love the performances and hearing how different cultural aspects like religion translates into their performances.”
The night consisted of many performances displaying Indian culture including several dance groups, each showcasing different eras, religions and styles. The dancers performed a skit about traditional hinduism in a modern, western environment, and beautiful traditional Indian songs.
“Even though I’m not Indian, I’ve been dancing in the India Nite dances for two years. My friend Divya [Divya] invited me to do it and I love it,” junior Kaitlyn Farmer said. “We get to watch all the different dances and songs and it’s really cool. I think this night does a good job of introducing Indian culture to those new to it and celebrating it for those already exposed.”
However as fun as the entire event is, it takes weeks to prepare. In fact the commitment to the heavy practices can be rough on student’s life.
“Overall Indian Nite took about 3 months to plan. Practices were every weekend, both Saturday and Sunday for about 1 hour in the beginning, but as it got closer to the performance we had two hours practice,” dancer junior Divya Divya said. “I often didn’t get time to do my homework, but the work was definitely worth it in the end.”
It’s more than hard work, though; India Night gives back to everyone in the community.
“It’s important for Columbia to have an event like this because it’s a fairly small city where people often overlook the different cultures we have here. India Nite is just one of the ways that allows anyone from the public to come see Indian culture,” Divya said. “Also, India night celebrates  Diwali, one of the Hindu holidays, which is so widely celebrated in India and Hindu houses in Pakistan. We go all out, but then coming to America, we barely get to have the chance to go all out and this is a great way to show our culture.”
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