India Nite
Published Oct. 31, 2006
A flash of vibrant colors, the scamper of intricate footwork and the tune of an ancient melody is just some of the flavor that could be experienced inside Jesse Auditorium on Friday night during India-Nite.
The night of festivities, sponsored by the Cultural Association of India, kicked off with children singing the national anthem of India. Several members in the crowd sang along as well.
CAI adviser Ranadhir Mitra welcomed the audience with some opening remarks. The performances were "a colorful medley of many things, prepared with lots of hard work, sweat and tears," he said.
Mitra said this year's India-Nite marked the 15th anniversary of the event. It is still going strong, "like the Energizer bunny," Mitra joked.
There were three masters of ceremony for the evening: Dinesh Kundraw, Soham Sutaria and Aswin Nukala, who introduced each act. The emcees also performed a couple of skits in between the acts.
The Koli dance of the next act aimed to bring the essence of the sea to the stage. The name comes from the Koli tribe of Maharashtra, who live on the seashore and dance the life of fishermen who incorporate all elements of their surroundings. In the performance, boys could be seen rowing wooden paddles about the stage, which added to the piece and helped to visualize the sea.
A fusion of energy rushed the stage during "Fusion, Medley," the final act before intermission. It was a dance of three songs: "Main vari vari," "Akhiyan na maar" and "Beedi."
The dance started out with traditional moves, with the women, all MU students, dressed in bright yellow and black outfits, with mirrors sewn onto their blouses.
The performance then took a turn into a hip-hop dance, where more dancers came onto the stage, all dressed in black.
Next, a few men dressed in jeans and button-up shirts joined the show as the music continued to speed up. Finally, it slowed down again into yet another traditional dance.
During the intermission, Sereno Adams, a 13-year-old boy from Columbia, said that this was his second time performing at India-Nite. He found out about it from his brother and his mother's friends. Since joining, Adams said that they rehearsed every other day for two to three hours. The practices went on for two to three weeks.
Performing the dance with his friends was his favorite part, he said.
Columbia resident Shivangi Chawla, another performer, said she has been dancing for four or five years since she moved here.
Last year was the first time MU senior Andrew Brown had seen India-Nite, and he was back once again to watch his girlfriend, Pranita Katwa, dance. Katwa performed in "Desh Mera Rangeela," which was in the second half of the show.
Although Brown had been to the event before, it was his sister Heather Brown's first time.
"I had no idea what to expect," she said.
Both Browns and their friend Annie Smith, another senior at MU, said their favorite part was seeing all of the traditional and vibrant clothing.
After the intermission, India-Nite began again with Siddharth Hazra on electric guitar providing background music for Divya Sitaraman, who recited the poem "Mashushala" in Hindi. The words were translated into English on a projector.
At various times, people from the audience would cheer, applaud or speak out loud in response to the poem.
MU's South Asian dance team, Mizzou Mirchi, performed a fusion dance with a mix of four songs that incorporated many genres of Indian music.
In "Desh Mera Rangeela," dancers wore outfits that were green, white and orange — the colors of the Indian flag. As their dance concluded, the men lifted the women up on their shoulders and rotated in a circle. The women draped the Indian flag over their shoulders.
Following the final song, the entire audience was invited onstage to dance and celebrate a successful performance with the cast.
Next year, CAI will turn 50, and Mitra promised an India-Nite more extravagant than previous years.
Guchait said CAI will participate in an International Fashion show in March.