A striking rendition of The Star Spangled Banner by College sophomore Rasika Chakravarthy echoed in a packed Irvine Auditorium Friday night, marking the opening of the South Asia Society's 12th Annual Fall Culture Show.
This year's show, titled "Aaina," which means "mirror" in Hindi, "reflects on present-day South Asian culture and offers glimpses of what it would be like in the future," according to College sophomore and SAS Cultural Vice President Swati Bagaria. "The concept of a mirror is that it shows the truest picture of who you are," she said.
College senior and SAS Vice President Nikita Shrimanker added, "The show touches so many people; it keeps our culture alive in school. It's also a time to show our parents that we haven't lost our culture."
Coinciding with Family Weekend, many parents attended the 21 undergraduate and graduate student performances, which ranged from colorfully choreographed dances to the unique sound of classical South Indian Carnatic music and the vocals of various South Asian a cappella groups and bands.
Urmil Rajkumar, mother of College senior Jenifer Rajkumar, traveled from New York to see the show that night. "I thought it was very well done," she said. "The hip hop and Indian fusion dances were very beautiful, and the skits were hilarious."
Aaina fell on the weekend of Diwali -- a point not lost on many students. "It's the Hindu New Year, the festival of lights. This is a big celebration for us," College sophomore Vasundhara Goenka said.
College junior Bernice Raveche said, "It was awesome. I didn't know much about South Asian culture, but I totally enjoyed it."
Penn alumni and students from the nearby University of the Sciences in Philadelphia and Drexel University also came to support the event.
Drexel senior Shantala Surwa, who said she has been coming to the show for the past five years, joked, "If I had a Penn student ID, I'd be on the executive board!" She added, "We have similar events at Drexel but [Penn] does it really well. The best item was 'Unekta Mein Ektam.'"
The 14-student dance group, Unekta Mein Ektam, named for a Hindi phrase that translates to "unity through diversity," stole the show in the eyes of many students. Composed entirely of non-South Asians, it emphasized the multicultural aspect of Aaina and its power to attract students of all nationalities.
"To bring together a group of students like [Unekta Mein Ektam] makes putting together this show worthwhile," College senior and SAS President Robby Sikka said.
Many students were attracted to the social aspect of Aaina. Wharton freshman Shaalini Ramanadhan, member of the freshman dance group Tamaasha, said she found the show to be "a fun way to meet people. It's entertaining -- proof of that is our sold-out theater."
