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Diwali event is ´awesome´

November 14, 2007

Bright colors, high energy, upbeat South Asian music and more than 300 people filled the student center during Connecticut College´s 12th Annual Diwali Celebration last weekend.

Khanh Pham, the Cultural Chair of the Connecticut College Asian/Asian American Student Association (CCASA), summed up the event simply: "Diwali is awesome."

Diwali, or the Hindu Festival of Lights, is celebrated in India and Nepal and marks the beginning of the Hindu New Year. Connecticut College´s celebration of the holiday, organized by the CCASA, is the largest student-produced event on campus.

This year´s event, which included humorous monologues, energetic dances, a skit and two heart-felt presentations by international students, explained and celebrated the significance of this traditional holiday.

One attendee said the show had the perfect combination of humor and seriousness. "I clapped along with the catchy beat of the Bhangra dance, but was also quite moved by the student presentations about poor living conditions in Indian and Nepali slums," she said.

Proceeds from the event benefited Shelter Associates, an Indian non-profit organization that helps to improve living conditions in India by constructing both community and individual toilets in slums.

To learn more about CCASA and its role in raising awareness on campus about Asian and Asian American issues, please visit the association´s website: http://ccasa.conncoll.edu/.

- By Claire Gould ´10

For more information contact: Amy Sullivan (860) 439-2526; amy.sullivan@conncoll.edu