BY SHANZE HASAN ’21
The Nepali Student Association (NEPSO) held their annual Himalayan Night event on Thursday, Oct. 24. The event was held in Chapin Auditorium at 7 p.m. and was open to all students and faculty members from around the Five College area.
The organizers were surprised with the turnout of about 150-200 people, including students and faculty, despite the event being held on a Thursday night.
“We serve dinner with Indian food from Bombay Royale in Northampton since we do not get authentic Nepali food in the area,” Muskan Shrestha ’22, one of the NEPSO board members, said. This year’s menu included cottage cheese in a spicy curry sauce, chicken with a masala gravy, naan, rice and a carrot halwa.
After dinner was served, the emcees for the event — Dechen Lama ’22 and Dayishaa Daga ’22 — welcomed everyone and introduced themselves before the show.
The performances were mostly comprised of singing and dancing in traditional Nepali, Tibetan and Hindi songs, although some performances were also in English. The set of performances showcased the multicultural diversity within Nepal.
“Since Nepal is multicultural and we have many ethnic groups and languages, we try our best to represent the diversity,” Shrestha said. “Most of the performers are Nepali Students, but we also invite other groups on campus to perform.”
One of the performances outside the group was by the Diversions, an a capella troupe. In previous years, there have been performances by dance groups such as Taal, Jhumka and Bhangra. The NEPSO board was proud to see people from different communities present to observe their culture.
“The food was deliciously tasteful, and the performances perfectly demonstrated the beautiful Nepali culture,” Amman Syed ’22 said.