The Indian Student Association celebrated Dandiya with atraditional Indian meal and dancing Saturday in the L.A. PittengerStudent Center.
Dandiya is part of Navratri, a nine day and night celebration inhonor of the Goddess Durga, Swati Boddapati, a graduate student andmember of the Indian Student Association, said
"Dandiya is a traditional festival celebrated in Gujarat,India," Boddapati said. "We thought it would be fun to celebratehere."
The evening of dining and dancing was open to all students.
"I came because my computer teacher invited me," Rupa Yeager, afreshman at Ball State, said. "I thought it would be interesting tocheck out the Indian culture."
The traditional meal was served in the Yuhas Room in the StudentCenter. Signs helped explain what was in each of the dishes, andmembers of the Indian Student Association helped serve food andexplain what the dishes were.
Pav bhaji, a mix of potato, tomato, peas, onions andcauliflower, and flavored with spices was served. So was pulav,which consisted of mixed vegetables and basmati rice, flavored withspices. Raita, cucumber and yogurt, flavored with sour cream andpepper was also served. Gulab jamun, fried dumplings with sugarsyrup was dessert.
"The girls from the Indian Student Association cooked the food,"Boddapati said. "The guys decorated."
After eating, students were invited to participate in Indiandancing upstairs in a larger room that had been decorated withbright colors.
The dancers held sticks during the dancing as a part of thetraditional Dandiya festival.
"The sticks in the dancers' hands were to show the power of theGoddess Durga," Boddapati said. "The sticks represented the weaponsof the goddess."
The Indian Student Association was re-started this semester,Boddapati said. It had existed before at Ball State but went andhad to be started again.
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