Bells attached to dancers’ ankles jingled quietly as the lights dimmed in the Reitz Union Ballroom on Saturday night.
Roughly 850 people hushed in excitement as Praharsha 2012 kicked off its seventh year.
The annual cultural fest is meant to showcase the best of Indian culture: its dancing, music and food. In Sanskrit, “praharsha” means extreme happiness.
Nalini Kumar, a 24-year-old electrical engineering Ph.D. student, has organized Praharsha for the last two years.
“It’s more about getting everyone together,” she said. “It’s the beginning of Fall, so new students come in, and we want to get them together and let them enjoy some Bollywood music.”
Praharsha is put on by Gators for Asha and UF Student Government.
Gators for Asha is UF’s chapter of Asha for Education, a nonprofit organization with programs in various parts of India.
The main goal of Asha for Education is to provide education to underprivileged and oppressed children in India.
Preparations for the event start at least five months in advance every year, said 26-year-old chemical engineering graduate student Lokendra Bengani, co-president of Gators for Asha.
After a few moments of silent darkness in the Grand Ballroom, enthusiastic emcees entered and, illuminated by a spotlight, hyped up the crowd.
The performances included traditional Indian music and renditions of contemporary Indian pop songs.
In a performance of classical northern Indian music, members of a five-person band sat on the floor to perform their 10-minute routine.
“It is traditional to sit on the floor,” singer Mihika Kulkarni, a 22-year-old mechanical and aerospace engineering graduate student, said. “In all Indian classical music, northern and southern, nobody stands.”
At the end of the show, the Desi Gators dance group lined up on the edge of the stage as a popular Indian song started to play. The student-heavy crowd screamed and clapped its hands.
When the final song of the night played, the dance group jumped from the stage and ran into the cheering crowd.
After the performances, the second floor of the Reitz Union was filled with trays of traditional Indian dishes including vegetable curry, raita and pulao.
Event organizers said all of the food was vegetarian.
The smells of cinnamon, nutmeg and coriander wafted together as people walked around trying dishes.
The walls were decorated with traditional Indian garb: colorful ghagra cholis, saris and lehengas.
Event organizers chose the name “praharsha” because they wanted to exemplify the joy that goes into all aspects of the yearly event.
Shweta Bhagat, a 23-year-old UF graduate student studying information systems and operations management, and one of the emcees, said all of the volunteers are essential to Asha’s events.
“It’s fun to be around lively and fresh people,” she said.
An Indian dance group performs a Bollywood dance medley at the Praharsha Indian festival on Saturday evening in the Reitz Union Ballroom. Praharsha, which means hope and happiness, is held annually by Gators for Asha.
