Hindu students celebrated the coming of spring Saturday night through comedy, music and dance.
Selling out for the second year in a row, 800 students, parents and alumni attended the annual Holi Rangeela show in Lisner Auditorium. Holi is the festival of colors, which honors good harvests and fertility of the land.
Saturday’s show was comprised of 13 acts, primarily dance routines, which students rehearsed for about three weeks prior to the performance. Most participants dressed in the Indian salwar-kameez, flowing trousers and a long, loose tunic.
The Indian Students’ Association held a cultural performance instead of focusing solely on religion for this year’s festival.
“There are many different religions in India, so we chose to focus on the cultural aspect, and a different Hindu group focuses on the religious aspect,” said Pia Chowdry, vice president of the Indian Students’ Organization.
In a skit called the “Voices of Bollywood,” student Nandan Joshi had the audience in stitches as he portrayed a Hindi-speaking Indian man trying to obtain a U.S. visa.
“Dil Ka Sapna,” a duet between students Anisha Mathur and Bhaveen Jani, told the story of a young man in the United States calling his Indian sweetheart. The duo sang love songs in Hindi and English, including “This I Promise You” and “Because You Loved Me.”
During the dance performances, the auditorium filled with sounds of traditional and modern Indian music, as well as several American hip-hop songs. Many of the groups showcased bhangra, a lively form of Indian folk music and dance.
Acts entitled “So Many Sophomores,” “Freshman Fling” and senior performers’ “Save the Last Dance,” featured a mix of Indian and American music.
“It’s my last year, so I thought (performing and rehearsing) would be a good time to spend with my friends,” said Neerali Shah, part of the “Save the Last Dance.”
The show concluded with a performance from GW Chamak, a group which performed in November’s Diwali event and in competitions and showcases across the country. The group performed a dance to “Sajnave Sajna.”
“Performing at Holi is so great because we get to showcase out talents to the GW community,” said junior Priya Raheja, a member of GW Chamak.
