Spring Break
Bhangra Nite 2008 brings cultural enlightenment to Aggie community
By: Rahul Bhatnagar
Issue date: 2/28/08 Section: News
The dance event "Bhangra Nite 2008" attracted 300 students in raising funds for the underprivileged children in the Memorial Student Center Saturday. The event was organized by the Texas A&M chapter of Child Rights and You America, a nonprofit organization advocating basic child rights and welfare.
"CRY funds child relief and development-related projects like some of Katrina's relief work, Boys and Girls of America and various projects in India where the lion's share of operations is located," said Sarwesh Kumar, a petroleum engineering graduate student and member.
The evening showcased the Bhangra genre of dancing that Manish Singh, chemical engineering graduate student and CRY member, described as "a popular folk dance from the state of Punjab in the Indian subcontinent, which celebrates togetherness."
There were plenty of newcomers to the event like Dave Strohecker, a senior sociology major.
"The style of dancing was way more approachable than the typical western style," he said.
Matt Hickey, a senior bio-chemistry major, said he enjoyed the event because of the presentation of the culture. "Everyone's enthusiasm made learning Bhangra really fun. Events like this are a great opportunity to spread the rich culture present here on campus."
Graduate geography student Yige Gao found the group dances amusing.
"I love the music so much and it's especially fun when people dance together in a circle. It's kind of similar to Chinese minority dance."
The event brought Aggies like Vedant Sarawagi, a recent graduate, back to College Station. Sarawagi traveled from Austin to attend the party.
"It was a perfect set up to spend Saturday evening dancing with friends and other fellow Aggies to Punjabi songs."
Traditional Indian snacks and sweets were served by students. Some of them were seen getting mehndi done on their palms, which Amruta Mardikar, a member, said it "is like a washable herbal tattoo meant for special occasions."
Soma Dhavala, a statistics graduate student who has long been associated with CRY, aptly summed up the body's mission as "enlightenment through entertainment and empowerment through education towards positively affecting the lives of underprivileged children in line with UNICEF's objectives."
"CRY funds child relief and development-related projects like some of Katrina's relief work, Boys and Girls of America and various projects in India where the lion's share of operations is located," said Sarwesh Kumar, a petroleum engineering graduate student and member.
The evening showcased the Bhangra genre of dancing that Manish Singh, chemical engineering graduate student and CRY member, described as "a popular folk dance from the state of Punjab in the Indian subcontinent, which celebrates togetherness."
There were plenty of newcomers to the event like Dave Strohecker, a senior sociology major.
"The style of dancing was way more approachable than the typical western style," he said.
Matt Hickey, a senior bio-chemistry major, said he enjoyed the event because of the presentation of the culture. "Everyone's enthusiasm made learning Bhangra really fun. Events like this are a great opportunity to spread the rich culture present here on campus."
Graduate geography student Yige Gao found the group dances amusing.
"I love the music so much and it's especially fun when people dance together in a circle. It's kind of similar to Chinese minority dance."
The event brought Aggies like Vedant Sarawagi, a recent graduate, back to College Station. Sarawagi traveled from Austin to attend the party.
"It was a perfect set up to spend Saturday evening dancing with friends and other fellow Aggies to Punjabi songs."
Traditional Indian snacks and sweets were served by students. Some of them were seen getting mehndi done on their palms, which Amruta Mardikar, a member, said it "is like a washable herbal tattoo meant for special occasions."
Soma Dhavala, a statistics graduate student who has long been associated with CRY, aptly summed up the body's mission as "enlightenment through entertainment and empowerment through education towards positively affecting the lives of underprivileged children in line with UNICEF's objectives."
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