By Courtney Cleveland

Features Editor

On Friday, Nov. 10, Millsaps Masala, an organization on campus that promotes South Asian culture through dance, music and religion, helped the campus celebrate Diwali. Several members of the community, students and families gathered to celebrate with food, music and dancing. From 5-6 p.m., Millsaps Masala served several types of Indian cuisines outside of the Recital Hall in the Academic-Complex. The actual performance began at 6 p.m. inside the Recital Hall.  

Guests were greeted by a colorful array of streamers and lights as they entered, which was fitting since Diwali is known as the “Festival of Lights.” Diwali is traditionally celebrated for five days, each honoring a specific thing.  

Shivangi Patel, a sophomore biochemistry major and vice-president of Millsaps Masala was credited with a lot of the work that went into making Diwali a successful event. She felt that the final result was great.  

“The final performance requires a lot of hard work. We had late night practice, and sometimes we had to put aside our schoolwork to attend these practices, but at the end it was all worth it,” said Patel. “Everyone loved it, and we loved performing it.”  

Abigail Tidwell, a sophomore neuroscience major, also performed in Diwali. Her overall favorite part of Diwali was the experience of a new culture. Tidwell practiced for a month and a half for the performance.  

“[My favorite part of Diwali was] definitely the experience of being a part of another culture as well as getting to learn and perform the dance,” said Tidwell.  

After the performances, the members of the show put on a fashion show to showcase all of the outfits. The event ended with a crowd-favorite. The finale was a combination of contemporary and ritualistic dance.