First Diwali celebration held at USD

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ore than 150 people turned out to celebrate the first Diwali at USD on Nov. 13.

Diwali, also known as the festival of lights, celebrates the victory of good over evil in the Hinduism and Jainism religions.

During USD’s celebration Indian food was served, traditional dances were performed and prizes were also given out.

Naveen Rokkam, a computer science graduate from India and one of the main organizers of the Center for Diversity & Community event, said the celebration brings a piece of home to students from the Indian subcontinent.

“The Center for Diversity has given us this unique opportunity to help us feel at home when we’re far away from home,” he said.

The planning for the holiday started months ago when Lamont Sellers, the director of the Center for Diversity & Community, was going through his calendar looking for international holiday the center could host.

“For USD and for our community it means a lot to be able to recognize a holiday that many of these students that were participating and many of those that were here — they would be celebrating in India, or Sri Lanka, or Nepal or Bangledesh, but they can’t,” he said.

Sellers said Diwali is equivalent in scope to the Christian holiday of Christmas and by hosting Diwali at USD, he hopes international students felt more at home.

“For these students this is their holiday and they’re not at home to be able to celebrate it with family and friends so they have a second family here. They have new friends here and its a great time for them to celebrate and educate us as well about their holiday and what they do for Diwali,” Seller said.

Rokkam said the holiday is celebrated with joy and happiness and is meant to invite the wealth of the goddess Lakshmi into one’s home. He also said he hopes the celebration will help American students understand Indian culture and the Hindu religion.

“I think this is a historic moment in the University of South Dakota in respect to the cultural awareness that we have,” Rokkam said. “This event and events like this will (help) USD to embrace the international community.”

Kalyana Mondreti, a graduate student and an event organizer, said she thought Seller’s idea of hosting Diwali was a great idea and was happy that traditional dances were performed.

“It’s a very rare opportunity for them to see classical Indian dance for sure. I don’t think you get a chance to see classical Indian dance in Vermillion,” Mondreti said.

Margaret Lee, a physician assistant graduate student, said she was excited to attend the event and was impressed with USD’s effort to promote diversity.

“I definitely loved the food. I loved the cultural exposure and the dances,” she said. “I feel like they brought a piece of their culture to us and we were fortunate enough to be a part of their celebration.”

Sellers said he hopes students who attended the event were able to see common threads that connect people from around the world.

“Though we come from different backgrounds we all have things that we celebrate,” Sellers said. “Regardless of what part of the world it comes from, regardless of what our culture is, what our religious backgrounds are — all of that — we all have things that we celebrate, and this is an opportunity for us to learn about someone else’s celebration.”