Indian culture showcased
at annual Ustav celebration
Hundreds of people
turned out for the event,
which featured traditional
Indian food and dances
By Jared Paben
Senior News Reporter
Nearly 500 people celebrated with
the Students of the Indian Subconti
nent on Friday night in the group's
fifth-annual Utsav celebration.
As many as 100 people came from
the Portland area alone to participate
in Utsav, which means "festival" in
Sanskrit, SIS co-Director Edwin
Prasad said. Prasad added that Fri
day's celebration does not coincide
with any Indian holiday.
Dancer and SIS member Gibran
AzamAli said the event was simply
an opportunity to promote Indian
culture locally.
Utsav is the second-largest cultural
celebration at the University, trailing
only behind International Night fes
tivities, said Prasad, who organized
the event.
The celebration started at 5:30 p.m.
with a traditional Indian dinner, fol
lowed by a skit, some traditional and
not-so-traditional dances and a fash
ion show in the EMU Ballroom.
Prasad said there are many reasons
why crowds of people throng to the
celebration every year. First, he said
Indians in Eugene find it a good op
portunity to congregate, meet and re
connect with others in their culture.
Second, there seems to be a wide
spread fascination with Indian cul
ture, he said.
"The show and the glitter of Indian
culture appeals to a lot (of people),"
he said.
AzamAli, who has participated in
the event for the past four years, said
people come because the taste of In
dian culture showcased by the event is
completely different from anything
else in Eugene. He also said the skit
segment offers insight into the way In
dians view the world.
He offered a third explanation for
the hearty turnout: the food.
"I think the first thing is the food,"
he said. "I've seen people just stay for
the food and leave for the show."
Some of the dishes served were a
curry cheese dish called Shahi Paneer,
a lentil soup called Daal Makhni,
Chicken Korma and Naan bread.
One of the stars of Friday night's
show was 4-year-old Priyanka Manda,
who danced the Dayya Dayya and
drew cheers and a roaring applause
from the crowd.
Manda, who taught herself the
dance in four days, said she wanted to
Lauren Wimer Photographer
Four-year-old Priyanka Manda performs the
Dayya Dayya dance during Friday night's
Utsav celebration in the EMU ballroom.
dance "(because) I'm a small kid and
everybody will be impressed at me."
She added that her favorite part of
dancing is running around and spinning.
Throwing some spontaneity into
this year's celebration, event organiz
ers and volunteers celebrated event
Turn to INDIAN, page 4
Annual China Night focuses
on old, newTaiwanese culture
Organized by the Chinese
Student Association,
the event included hip-hop
dancing, food and a play
By Reese Lee
Freelance Reporter
Students and community members
were greeted by young ladies dressed
in glossy silk cheongsams as they en
tered the EMU Ballroom on Sunday
evening. The occasion was China
Night 2004, an annual event organ
ized by the Chinese Student Associa
tion. CSA organizes China Night to
present centuries of Chinese culture,
and this year's theme was Taiwan.
After the food, which was prepared
by CSA, was served, the program be
gan with Chinese New Year songs
sung by a group of students from the
Eugene Chinese School. The night
continued with a play titled "Oh, For
mosa" that lasted the entire duration
Danielle Hickey Photo Editor
(Left to right) Freshman Tina Chen, senior Joanna Cheng and freshman Kimberly Chan present
Chinese goods to graduate student Hani Attia at China Night in the EMU Ballroom Sunday night.
of the event.
The play showcased different as
pects of traditional and contemporary
Taiwan, including a Tai-Chi display by
the Chinese Kung Fu Tai Chi Acade
my, hip-hop dance, rope-skipping,
Taiwanese "A-mei" tribal dance and a
performance on the yang qin, a tradi
tional Chinese musical instrument.
Senior Vickee Liang, who has been
involved with China Night for the
past two years, said this year's event
Turn to CHINA, page 4
CORRECTION
In “Groups lose funds due to no-shows" (ODE, Jan. 26), the story stated that House of Film was de-funded because members of
the group failed to show up to an ASUO Programs Finance Committee meeting. However, members of House of Film made the
decision to switch from PFC funding to fund-raising several months prior to the hearing. The group is still active, although not
supported with incidental fees, and director and president Bryan J. Buck said in an e-mail that members are currently working
on a feature-length film.The Emerald regrets the error.
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