Legally Desi Night sheds light on Indian culture

By Garret Schuelke
Western Herald

Western Michigan University’s International Education Week, which began Monday, Nov. 16 and concluded on Saturday, Nov. 21 with the Indian Student Association’s Legally Desi Night event.

Taking place in the East Ballroom of the Bernhard Center, Legally Desi Night started at 7:30 p.m. and ended at 10:30 p.m.

According to the urban dictionary, “desi,” a Sanskrit term, means “one from our country,” and refers to people whose origins and heritage lie in India, Pakistan, and Bangladesh.

(Chyn Wey Lee/Western Herald) Tithi Mukherjee participated in a fashion show, part of "Legally Desi" program organized by the Indian Student Association Saturday

Events for the evening included a fashion show, voucher prizes, performances by Sarang Sane, Abi Panikulangara, Dattaraj Kamalapurkar, and Vishwas Setty and Amrit, and dances—including Stryker, World Spice, Retro, Wedding, and Bhangra dancing styles. Special Indian cuisine was also available to eat.
Barun Varun, a graduate student who first started working as the public relations and promotional person of the Indian Student Association this semester, expected almost 300 people to attend the event.

“It’s just like a small party,” Varun said. “It’s for people to check out and to remind people [of Indian origin] of home.”

Being the third annual Legally Desi, the event was organized for several months by the Legally Desi E-Board, according to Indian Student Association president Supriya Ghorpade. Along with volunteers, contributors to the event included Curry Corner, World of Spices, Indian Cuisine, International Programs Council, and the Western Student Association.

“It’s a really great international event,” Ghorpade said. “We are creating a legacy from the past two events… everyone’s coming out to show their talents.”

“We hope it’s going to be a long, big [event],” Varun said. “The best part is the Indian families and students. It’s more colorful.”

Ishator Herandez, a graduate student who attended Legally Desi Night with two friends, was there to see some acquaintances from the Indian Student Association perform.

“It seems really good up to now,” Herandez said. “I think it is the best event for international week.”

The Indian Student Association can be reached at isawmu@gmail.com., or visit their website at www.rso.wmich.edu.

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Posted by heraldstaff on Nov 22 2009. Filed under A & E. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0. You can leave a response or trackback to this entry

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