MIT Sangam - The Association of Indian Students at MIT hosted Diwali Night Dinner and Cultural show 2019 on Sunday, October 27, 2019 evening. A sumptuous dinner of six courses with delicious Badam milk was served from 6:00pm to 8:00pm at La Sala De Puerto Rico longue and the cultural show was organized at the grand Kresge Auditorium where the MIT students decorated the venues with colorful lights, balloons, and Rangolis. More than six hundred people attended the event and enjoyed every item with much appreciation. Some enjoyed having henna tattoos on their hands.

MIT Sangam is the association of Indian students at MIT and represents the many Indian graduate students that belong to the MIT community. Sangam organizes periodic events, extracurricular activities, and festival celebrations to keep the Indian culture alive at MIT. They celebrate many Indian festivals, organize informal social events to unwind over food and meet new friends and build lifelong relationships, and integrate with others as our extended family members who are coming halfway around the world and build a well-knit community at MIT. Sangam organizes every few weeks an event that gives the graduate student community a reason to delve in and get a glimpse of the Indian definition of fun, taste of some authentic Indian food and make memorable moments with friends.

A stellar cultural show planned for the evening included a mesmerizing Shiva Vandana Bharatanatyam dance by Kavya Ravichandran. Then, the Boston University’s (BU) SUNO team presented its premiere South Asian/Western Fusion music through the blend of cultures which the audiences enjoyed most. Next, the BU Bhangra team showcased its artistry by paying homage to traditions that define Bhangra as a truly unique art form. A melodic vocal solo – Kannanule was presented by Vyshnavi Vennelakanti. MITwa-Bollysquad put together a lovely fusion of various Bollywood and Bhangra songs for this special event. This was followed by the presentation of a piece of Carnatic music by the MIT Swara team. MIT Swara is dedicated to bringing awareness of South Asian classical and modern music to MIT and surrounding communities.

Tufts University’s Jumboraas team performed a competitive form of Garba and Raas, the dance style originates from Gujarat that entertained the audiences very much. Another amazing Bharatanatyam dance piece was presented by Ms. Vibhaalakshmi Sivaraman. Ms. Nidhi Sharma presented a beautiful vocal solo – Tujhe Kitna Chahne Lage that swayed away the audiences with the melodic tunes. Another dance piece was presented by the Tufts Tamasha team with full of energy and entertained the audiences with their blend of Eastern and western styles, from Bollywood to hip hop to Jazz. Ms. Shriya Srinivasan put together with her team a wonderful Carnatic – Film music fusion and entertained the audiences with their talents. Ms. Preeti Singh and Heer Joisher showcased their dance proficiency with a semi-classical dance – Deewani Mastani. A High –energy Bhangra performance was offered to the audiences by the MIT bhangra group. Incredible audiences encouraged every team by their whistles and claps and enjoyed every performance by swinging their heads and body. The flow of meanings or forms that makes so much of Indian dances and music so rewarding.

The president of Sangam, Sooraj Narayan thanked all the audiences coming and supporting the event and all the participants for their active participation and making the event a memorable one. He expressed his gratitude to the MIT Sangam’s Executive team for putting this program together. He thanked sponsors of the event – Council for the Arts at MIT, Office of Graduate Education, Office of Multicultural Programs, Graduate Student Council, LEF-ARCADE, the COOP, MIT India, and the Official MIT Graduate Ring. He thanked Alumni Contributors: Anu Chitrapu and Ranu Bopanna for their support. He appreciated the brilliant MCs of the event Ms. Geeticka Chauhan, Ms. Kavya Ravichandran, and Mr. Prakash Prashanth for making the event an interesting and entertaining to the audiences. He also thanked all the volunteers and friends who helped with their time and services. Lastly, Sooraj expressed his gratitude to the Minerva Boston Restaurant for serving delicious food to a large crowd.

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