Desi Night, held in the cafeteria on Friday, Nov. 14,, featured Bollywood music, food, and dancing. The event drew a crowd of roughly 150 to 200 people, Desi Union Vice President Manasvi Kotha said
Desi Night has been a recurring event that has been held by Desi Union annually for years, Desi Union President Aarjav Jain said. This event was meant to be a fun homecoming-style dance but also a cultural exhibition for the Desi diaspora, a group corresponding to South Asians such as Indians, Bangladeshis, and Pakistanis, Jain said. This Desi event is meant to bolster the diversity and spirit of our school community, Jain said.
“I feel like right now, not many people know Desi culture,” Jain said. “You have a lot of Indians who immigrated here, but they’ve become more part of the American culture, not Indian. I guess just by playing so many Indian songs, we’re hoping that maybe people learn to like them.”
Aside from the dancing and the music stand, which was manned by Jain himself, there were also many great food options to choose from. Both food and music options were voted on and chosen by members of Desi Union, Jain said.
“We had spring rolls, we had samosas, and we had mango lassi,” Jain said. “Food was chosen through a combination of factors. It was all down to good taste, good price, good timing, and, for sure, good quality.”
Josh Shankla, a Junior who attended Desi Night, thoroughly enjoyed the function and enjoyed having the opportunity to hang out with his friends, he said. He was enthusiastic about going and felt that the exciting environment and food were enticing enough to lure him into attending, he added.
“The food is very good,” Shankla said. “The samosas were very nice. There’s a crunchiness to the outer flare as well as the filling. My favorite part is the peas inside.”
Shankla also thought that the event was a great way of bringing the South Asian community at our school together, he said. Being able to hang out with all of his friends and have a good time with his acquaintances was his favorite part of the night, he added.
“I thought the event was incredibly fun as there was lots of energy,” Shankla said. “We got to dance together and made memorable moments, such as when my friend spilled his drink all over himself while dancing, and we had to clean it up. It was very funny.”
Planning for Desi Night spanned roughly two months, and officers divided the workload between preparing the logistics along with the publicity and advertising, Kotha said. Ultimately, this year’s event benefited from a lot of volunteers showing up, she said.
“Volunteers really do make this event happen,” Kotha said. “Without them, we wouldn’t even have had the decorations up in time.”
Officers admitted that last-minute stress among members made the final stretch of planning slightly harder than expected, Kotha said. Communication proved to be the biggest challenge in organizing Desi Night, she added.
“The preparation was stressful,” Kotha said. “It takes a lot from us as officers, and we rely on our members to volunteer and help us out, especially when it really came down to the last minute.”
Regardless of not fully meeting event attendee goals, the club’s officers remained optimistic and believed that the event was a success, Kotha said. Desi Union is now planning on hosting the next Desi Night, which is expected to be held next semester, she said.
“We didn’t get as many people as we wanted or we thought would come,” Kotha said. “It wasn’t too bad, but I think everyone that came had fun, and I think that’s all that matters.”
