Students celebrate Divaali in the Great Hall

Twinkling lights and flickering candles symbolized the hope for humankind in the Student Union’s Great Hall on Sunday as students and members of the community celebrated Divaali.

Also known as Deepavali or the “festival of lights,” Divaali is the largest Hindu festival, which celebrates the triumph of good over evil.

This year’s celebration was co-sponsored by Hindu Yuva and the UNC colony of Delta Phi Omega Sorority, the South Asian sorority.

The night opened with Puja, a Hindu religious ritual and prayer that includes chanting and an offering of fruits and sweets.

Afterwards, students performed Bollywood songs and Hindu dances for the crowd of about 100, with some mouthing the lyrics in Hindi.

For some, the highlight of the evening was the three performances by Bhutanese refugees.

Priyanka Uhaetri, Binita Dhital and Bibek Chhaetri are three school-age students who escaped to the United States from refugee camps in Bhutan.

Members of Hindu Yuva have been tutoring the students and taking them on outings since February. They were asked to perform a dance at the last minute when another group canceled.

“The kids blew me out,” said Debjit Dutta, a member of Hindu Yuva who helped organize the event. “It was such an awesome performance.”

After a dinner of traditional Indian foods such as naan, a flatbread, and kheer, a rice pudding, the crowd got a chance to perform a traditional dance known as Raas.

Participants danced with colorful sticks, which they hit together with partners as they danced through the line.

Sophomore Crystal Shreve, president of Delta Phi Omega, said the Raas dance was her favorite part of the evening.

“It’s more interactive,” she said. “We have so many people participating.”

Sonali Rathore, a graduate student in the School of Dentistry, said her favorite part was the traditional Odissi dance performed by sophomore Anjana Mohanty.

Rathore moved from India to live with her husband in the United States six years ago. She said she misses celebrating the festival in India.

“This event was very nice,” she said. “They tried to cover everything with the music and dancing.”

Freshman Krishna Patel came to the festival to celebrate with friends since she is unable to travel home to South Carolina.

“We do all the lights and decorate the entire house,” she said. “Just being together with people, that’s what it’s all about.”

Dutta said he thought the event went was successful in attracting Hindus and other members of the community from a variety of faiths.

“Not only Hindus, but a diverse population came,” he said. “It was very inspiring.”

Contact the University Editor at udesk@unc.edu.