Diwali Reflection by Chuyun Huang
Decorated with a plethora of lights and immersed in the smell of Indian cuisine, Capital Union Building was lit up in the quiet night. It was the night for 2019 Diwali celebration. Along the path to the student center, the performers and the emcees were enthusiastically preparing for the performance to make sure the success of this big celebration. Many of students dressed up in their stunning Indian clothes to proudly spread out their culture on campus. So did I. The beautiful Indian sari that Anna Marshall kindly lent to me helped me experience the Indian culture more deeply. I watched many YouTube videos trying to find out the way to wear it; however, it was too sophisticated to self-learn through videos. Thus, I asked my Indian friend, Esha Teware, to help me dress the sari. It was amazing to see a single length of silk being wrapped around the waist to form a skirt. Maybe because it was my first time wearing a sari, I found that I was constrained by the sari so I could not do many things. Surprisingly, however, Esha told me that many Indian women wear sari to do housework without any problems. Wearing a sari for the very first time had made me shy but it had won me many compliments throughout the event so that I gradually built up my confidence while walking in the fashion show.
In the cultural representation by Dr. Dinesh Pai, I have learnt that Diwali festival is a festival of new beginnings and the triumph of good over evil, wisdom over ignorance, and light over darkness. As a professor, Dr. Pai presented the Indian culture in an easy way for the audience to understand and remember. After knowing the meaning of Diwali, I felt the decoration in the student center showcased the spirit of the Diwali stunningly. The Global Ambassadors really had devoted their time and energies to planning and coordinating the event.
Mr. Deep Gupta, the community leader of Asian Indian Americans of Central PA, gave a heartfelt speech about seeing the population of Indian in Middletown growing. I was touched by the strong connection and belonging in Indiana community. As an international student in this melting-pot culture, I appreciate and embrace different cultures; however, I also understand the essence of finding our community within the same culture. The community comforts us and sustains us. It cures our homesickness.
The student performers were really good at igniting the atmosphere. Along with the Bollywood music, all of the performances were engaging. I noticed that many of the audience also swayed to the music. India was characterized by a distinctive local style with the catchy music melody and eye-catching dancing. Indians were born to dance. That was my first thought after seeing all the performances. Besides the professional Indian student dancers, I was proud to see there were two talented Chinese girls, Zhen Liu and Zhiqing Zhang, and a talented Kurdish girl, Miewan Ahmed. It was fascinating to see that people with different cultural backgrounds gathered together to celebrate Diwali festival.
Overall, it was a great new experience for me to deeply understand Indian culture. I appreciate the talented and hard-working Global Ambassadors for hosting this enjoyable cultural event.
