Farangis Nozimzoda hasn't been home in two years, but a celebration Thursday night will help her feel just a little closer.
As part of the Tajik Students Association, Nozimzoda has been helping plan a way for the Ball State campus community to celebrate the Persian New Year, or Navruz, a holiday that is celebrated March 21 in countries in Central Asia and the Middle East.
"Our motivation is definitely to introduce ourselves to campus," said Nozimzoda, a junior majoring in finance who came to Ball State from Tajikistan in Jan. 2010. "We wanted to share this event with our friends. We tell people about this and this and that, but it's different until you're actually going to see it with your own eyes."
The campus celebration, which will take place from 7 to 11 p.m. in the L.A. Pittenger Student Center Ballroom, will be a two-part event. The first half will feature performances by dancers and of traditional musical instruments; the second half will be a dance party where attendees can learn and try out the new rhythms and dance style they will see.
Nozimzoda said the celebration is occurring a week after the spring equinox so that it could be held at a more convenient time for students, and so those planning it could observe the holiday with each other and their friends in the Muncie community on the actual day. It is being sponsored by the Afghan Student Association and the University International Ambassador's Club, in addition to the Tajik Students Association.
Nozimzoda said this is the second year they are hosting the event; in 2011, it drew a crowd of nearly 300 people. Organizers said they're hoping for a similar number this year.
"We wanted to do something new this year, to show something more than we did last year," said Safarali Saydshoev, a junior news journalism major who also hails from Tajikistan. "Outside, during this event at home, people are getting together to arm wrestle and stuff like that, showing who's the strongest man. So we came up with this idea of having some sort of sports involvement."
Nozimzoda said this year's Navruz celebration will involve a visit from members of Ball State's club wrestling team to mirror some of the athleticism that is a part of the celebration in her home country.
Attendees can expect to enter a ballroom that's been transformed into a Persian environment, with curtains at the entrance and carpets on the floor. Nozimzoda said students from Tajikistan, Iran and Uzbekistan will each set up a different corner of the room in a way that is specific to their home country.
The only thing the event won't include is food. This is because University Catering would have had to provide any refreshments, and even if they had used traditional recipes, the food wouldn't have come out the same as it at home, Nozimzoda said.
"We're trying to keep it as close as possible to our cultures," she said. "One of the things is we are homesick and we all want to celebrate this event ... The United States is great, it's so diverse, but it's so easy to lose your cultural identity here because it all gets blended. [Celebrating Navruz] is a big part of our culture, and we miss it."
But that's not all. Both Nozimzoda and Saydshoev emphasized the opportunity the celebration provides students without Persian roots to celebrate spring and a new beginning, and, most importantly, learn about new cultures.
"We're going to take them on a tour of Tajikistan [and other countries] with them not leaving their city, their place," Nozimzoda said. "They can get a piece of Tajikistan, a taste of Tajikistan, without leaving their home."
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