To the right of the door leading into the Talley Ballroom, a large pile of abandoned shoes lie, which were kicked off by the colorfully adorned people dancing in the middle of the room.
The Triangle Garba celebration, organized by the South Asian Student Association, took place Saturday night.
More than 100 people stood in groups taking photos and socializing with new and old friends alike. The music was playing, but it wasn’t until the song changed that those small groupings of people morphed into a single line of synchronized dancing in a circle. The circle revolved around a table in the middle of the room.
According to Samruddhi Kilkarni, a senior in electrical engineering, the statue placed on top of the table in the middle of the room is a vital piece of the dance.
“That is the statue of God in the middle. The dances move in circles around the God and the more circles you do, the more it shows our devotion,” Kilkarni said. “It just gives a lot of respect.”
After a few dances, most of the attendees gathered close around the table for a prayer to worship the goddess, Shakti.
When the prayer was over, attendees began to participate in a different traditional dance, Raas. This dance requires two lines of people to face each other and interact with their partner across from them using sticks called dandiyas. The participants hit the dandiyas together in a specific pattern that repeats while moving either right or left so the participant has a different partner after each pattern is completed.
Vijay Sadanani, a junior in economics and co-president of NCSU EKTAA, NC State’s South Asian Student Association said he was ecstatic with the turnout.
According to Sadanani, who was also one of the organizers of the event, Triangle Garba was the first big event the association has put on.
“This is a really good time to express ourselves through dance and get in touch with culture,” Sadanani said. “Also just to relax, especially for students around mid-term exams just to have a good time.”
Earlier in the night, Dharmik Patel, a sophomore in textile technology, hurried toward Talley with his friends adorned in traditional Indian attire. According to Patel, they were running a little late but were excited to celebrate.
Patel said he was attending to meet a lot of people, have fun and most importantly, dance. He explained that the event was held on the last day of the Garba celebration, so it was their final day to celebrate. The event was Patel’s first cultural event at NC State.
“I’ve been celebrating Raas for the last three to four years,” Patel said. “It’s like all the holidays combined. It’s really fun.”
Tucked into the far left side of the room, Yasha Aluru and Suraj Kute, first year graduates in industrial and systems engineering, swayed along to the music from afar. According to Aluru, they were not yet ready to dance.
“This dance is too fancy,” Aluru said. “We are waiting for the traditional dance.”
Both Aluru and Kute came from India to pursue their graduate degrees. Aluru is from Hyderabad and Kute is from Mumbai. Although Aluru is from India, this was her first Garba.
“I’m glad I came,” Aluru said. “It’s beautiful”
