The Coca-Cola Commons is generally crowded with backpack-toting students swarming between classes, but last Friday a crowd gathered to witness something else. A flourish of brightly-colored skirts, enthusiastic cheers from the crowd and beaming women from Apsaras, an Indian folk dancing group, opened Indian Cultural Exchange's cultural show, celebrating ICE's first annual India Week.
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| Merav Lichtenstein/Staff |
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Cultural dancers gave a colorful performance in the Coke Commons of the DUC Friday in celebration of India Week.
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ICE, founded to promote Indian culture on campus, hosted a variety of cultural, social and educational events last week in honor of its 10th year at Emory.
"The events have educational, social and cultural themes," former ICE President Anand Shah said. "It's a wide gamut of events which are indicative of what we do throughout the year. We also tried to pick events that would appeal to the greater Emory community."
The various activities throughout the week were chosen specifically because they showcased different aspects of the club. "We've tried to touch on all facets of our Indian culture from food to festivals," said ICE President Jane Zachariah.
Speaker Debasish Mishra's lecture Wednesday on East Asian political involvement, called "From Success to Significance," struck a chord with many ICE members. "[Mishra] spoke about a lot of issues," Shah said. "What's inspiring is how to get people involved."
Jaydeep Bhat, an ICE representative at large, agreed. "It's something that's just not really talked about a lot - political activism in our community."
Many others enjoyed the cultural show and birthday party, which took place in the DUC commons Friday afternoon. Featuring a multitude of dancers and a fashion show, the birthday party drew a diverse crowd.
College freshman Spencer Jones was walking through the DUC when the eye-catching performances convinced him to stop. "I didn't know what was going on, so I went to the info booth, and they told me it was a cultural show," he said. "I decided to stay and watch a while."
Jones interest in India Week was exactly what ICE members wanted. "I really like the fact that ICE tries to cater not only to Indian students but display our culture for everyone else," Bhat said. "We're a very diverse organization." ICE is home to African American, Caucasian and Asian students in addition to Indian members.
Shah, Zachariah and Bhat are all very enthusiastic about future India Weeks. "This will be our takeoff year," Shah said. And as India Week becomes a tradition, ICE members say the campus can continue discovering new things about Indian culture. "I like the idea that other people are learning as well," Bhat said.
