As part of the 50 th anniversary celebrations the India Society of Worcester(ISW), ISW members attended the Celtics game at T.D. Banknorth Garden on Dec 28, 2013 and presented a few dances as part of the pre-game show.

The performances, held before the Boston Celtics' 103-100 victory over the Cleveland Cavaliers, included dance routines performed by a Bollywood-Western influenced young adult’s dance troupe called “Jai Ho!” and other young dancers within the ISW.

“We wanted to celebrate Indian culture and the Indian-American community in a big way,” said Ragini Seth, founding member of the ISW and event organizer for the performances. “I think it was a great success. Excitement was palpable amongst not only older Indian-American immigrants at the event, but the young Indian-American adults performing" 

Seth said she enjoyed bringing young Indian-Americans with her to watch the game, as well as celebrate their common heritage.  Originally, the performances were to be during a Red Sox home game in the summer, but the game was rained out. So they sent inquiries to the Celtics. The Celtics front office was very welcoming  and thus the event was moved to the T.D. Banknorth Garden. 

Jai Kishan, leader of “Jai Ho!” team, said he was thrilled when he found out that his group had an opportunity to perform at a Celtics game. Before the performance. Kishan said his group had mainly Indian-American dancers between 12-14 years old, though they had a few older college students dance with them as well.

“ISW was so helpful in giving these kids an opportunity to showcase their culture,” said Kishan. One dancer for “Jai Ho!”, Mukhil Nair, 10, was especially grateful for the opportunity.  â€œPeople are seeing me on television and I’m glad to support India,” Nair said. 

After both dance troupes performed, two Indian Americans, Vitthal Bhakta, 63, and Arun Saigal, 22, sang the American national anthem in front of a crowd of over 18,000 people. It was lovely to see two generations of Indian Americans come together to sing the Anthem. Arun Saigal, who had founded the MIT Ohms A cappella group while he was a student at MIT arranged the music for the two voices. 

Saigal, also Lead Android Developer for Quizlet, said he was initially nervous to perform. “But when it came down to it, I really thought everything went well and I’m glad I could represent my community in an American way,” Saigal said. 

Along with the performances, the Celtics also let several kids and performers high five Celtics players within the home tunnel, as well as play a scrimmage during halftime. 

It was fabulous to see Indian Americans have a strong presence at a mainstream Boston event. The thrilling game and the final victory was certainly a wonderful icing on the cake!