BY JOCELYN ZHOU ’22
The South Asian Students Association (AWAZ) held their annual party, Rang De Basanti, at 9 p.m. on Sept. 27.
Rang De Basanti marks a special celebration for South Asian cultures.
“Literally, it means ‘color of spring.’ It’s actually a celebration of spring after a long winter. It’s a special tradition of our culture.” Amaya Choksi ’21, one of the organizers of this event, explained. The show celebrated the cultures of Pakistan, India, Bangladesh and Sri Lanka.
Alizeh Azhar ’23, a new student from Pakistan, wore traditional dress.
“I came here because of my cultural background,” Alizeh said. “I wear my traditional clothing, and most students here did the same. We have different traditional clothes, which are part of our culture.”
Aditi Parashar ’22, another event coordinator, said that the event took a long time to prepare.
“The planning began before summer,” Parashar said. “After we got back, we prepared [for] it all the time.”
Food at the event seemed essential to celebrate a collective cultural background.
“Food is part of our culture,” Amaya Choksi ’21 said. “We got some food here, and they were all authentic South Asian foods.”
Attendees sang along with different songs and formed a circle to dance. Rang De Basanti aimed to create a space for students from South Asia at Mount Holyoke College.
“We felt really apart from our culture,” Choksi said. “The kind of food, the kind of music, kind of people ... so we found that this is a way for everybody to come together and have a good time, not thinking about being home, but thinking this is a home here.”