Diwali Night, one of the truly cultural events at Trinity opened with a brief lecture by a professor at UTSA who enlightened audience about the significance of celebrating Diwali or Deepawali, the "Festival of Lights". Even though audience count was somewhat lesser than last time, that can be attributed to audience being divided between Diwali and play 'UrineTown' at Trinity's theater, premiered almost at the same time rather than the argument that people did not show up assuming it would be same as last year.
For those who missed it, this year's Diwali had many unique events to offer. First of all, there was a guest performance by students of Indian community at UT-Austin, among which Reena Patel stole the show with her superb performance. Second, two of our homegrown talents, Nikita and Ashwin sang classical songs and played a traditional instrument called Tabla. Never had Trinity Tigers had a taste of authentic Indian Classic Music. Trinity's claim that Class of 2013 is the most diverse, talented and academically strong seems to have some credibility. Third, there was another classical dance by pair of Aparna and Ashwin again. Meena, Heena and Aparna staged another amazing performance over tunes of a very popular and ostensibly sensuous Bollywood song. Looney Dance Crew, clearly one of the favorite dance groups on campus sealed the show with their characteristic dance over a Bollywood tune. Hilarious and entertaining style of two anchors, Raj and his partner withdrew a lot of laughter, applause and attention.
Diwali Night is one of the few events at Trinity that enrich Trinity students with an authentic cross-cultural experience. Not surprisingly, there were more non-Indian performers who looked gorgeous in Indian costumes. The level of attention and participation that Diwali Night withdraws from Trinity students belonging to varying cultures is laudatory. Hard work and organization that was put in it by ASA (Asian Student Association), HSU (Hindu Student Association), Looney-Crew and other dance performers is worthy of appreciation.
