By Jason Chapman
Special to The State News

About 200 people attended Sargam, an event to celebrate the Indian holiday Diwali on Saturday with lights, traditional dance, raffle prizes, food and music.

"It has been the best experience to bring our people together in this celebration," said doctorate student Deep Bandyopadhyay, president of MSU India Club. "I invite all of you to celebrate everything Indian."

Diwali is a five-day celebration that honors the victory of good over evil, gives praise to the relationship of brother and sister, and worships the Indian goddess of wealth.

The crowd packed into Erickson Hall participated in many traditional Indian performances with clapping, singing and shouting at the event sponsored by the MSU India Club and the Council of Graduate Students.

Flute, acoustic guitar and vocal musicians accompanied some of the Indian duet and solo performances in a concert-like atmosphere. Among these performances were Indian dances and songs symbolizing the blessings of God, love at first sight and heroic deeds, students said.

The Diwali celebration served as a welcomed break for hard-working MSU students.

"We are celebrating it this weekend because we don't have time during the week with our studies," said Disha Shah, an MSU engineering graduate student. "Tonight is the night to celebrate all religions of India."

A skit from a famous Bollywood movie was acted out with Indian men and women singing and dancing in unison, a performance that brought the crowd to its loudest applause of the entire night. Bollywood is the name of India's film industry.

After the performances, attendees went to the Erickson lobby where they ate dinner, filled with an array of traditional spicy and salty dishes. According to students, some of these traditional dishes took more than a day to prepare.

"Indian food is usually viewed and reported as being spicy but some people don't realize that it's India's salty dishes that are among those highly regarded in the culture, and the most difficult to make," said Kiran Misra, an MSU alumnus.

Electrical engineer doctorate student Ameet Joshi put Diwali into perspective for those not familiar with the holiday.

"If you wanted to look at it from an American standpoint, it would be New Year's, Christmas and the Fourth of July all wrapped into one," he said.