Diyon Ki Raat – Diwali Celebrated by Indian Student Alliance
"Welcome [aboard] ladies and gentlemen to Diyon Ki Raat Diwali Show 2006," please fasten your seatbelts as we prepare for our opening act. We hope you enjoy your journey and we thank you for choosing "United Indian Student Alliance (UISA)", boomed a voice at the Rialto Center for the Arts, tucked away in the heart of downtown. Saumya Dave and Pavani Yalla gracefully rendered the American and Indian national anthems with ease to usher the start of a fabulous show.
The attendants for the evening, Prashant Bhakta, Arti Danes, Umang Malbari and Tejesh Mehta had a segment of Indian "dance" idol, and a desi skit on marriages that played along between acts.
"Taal Se Taal Milao," the first dance piece of the evening entertained the audience with excellent choreography from the girls of the dance group, Champa and Chameli. The dancing divas from Georgia Tech presented That 70's Show and took the audience back to the popular song from yesteryears, "Yeh Mera Dil", but with the new remixed version from Don.
The song from the movie Kisna, "Chilman Uthegi Nahin", was revitalized by Kruti Dance Academy with their elegant green costumes set against a classical backdrop. Emory's Sitara dance troupe took fusion to a new level by incorporating ballet to their piece with exuberance. For those who wanted a little bit of ATL's hip-hop with bhangra, Georgia Tech's all boy team, Qurbani, performed a show-stopper piece leading up to the intermission.
The next segment of the show began with a unique fashion show. The UISA co-presidents, Aarti Aggarwal and Tony Patel, introduced the rest of the board with representatives from Emory, Georgia State, Georgia Tech and UGA. They also welcomed Mercer's Indian Cultural Exchange as the newest member of UISA.
Ishaara followed by Zindagi churned out dances to popular Bollywood tunes. The Silent Killers danced to the song "For Your Eyes Only" from the movie Humko Deewane Kar Gaye. While eclectic dance styles are often manifested in such shows, Saraas rendered a traditional garba piece with their colorful outfits. Bollywood actress Madhuri Dixit maybe taking a hiatus from movies, but her evergreen songs "Ek Do Teen?Choli Ke Peeche Kya Hai," to name a few, were resurrected through a medley of songs by Tech's all girl dance team Nazaaqat.
As the journey came to its finale, Atlanta Bhangra Coalition bid the audience farewell. The astonishing cultural show filled with modern and classical performances from college and high school students brought together magic and masala in a festive way to celebrate Diwali.
~ Archith Seshadri
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