Indian festivities at Loyola

Despite having a graduating class of more than 900 kids, my south suburban high school wasn’t very diverse. So the fact that I had an Indian friend out of that bunch is pretty remarkable, and with that friendship I gained some pretty remarkable knowledge about Hindu celebrations, some of which are even held right here on Loyola’s campus each year.

HSO members at last year's Garba pray to a Hindu goddesses. (credit: HSO Facebook page)

Loyola celebrates Hinduism

One such festivity, called Navratri Garba, will be held this Saturday, Oct. 16 at 7 p.m. in the Alumni Gym. Hosted by the  Hindu Students’ Organization (HSO), the Garba is free for all Loyola students, making it the perfect event to attend for someone who wants to experience another religion’s celebrations before graduating.

Garba 2010

According to a pamphlet handed out by the HSO, Navratri is “a festival of worship, dance and music celebrated over a period of nine nights…held in the honor of goddesses Lakshmi, Durga and Saraswati.” At Loyola’s Garba 2010 there will be a live DJ specializing in GARBA/RAAS music, free food and Dandiya sticks for dancing a traditional dance, as seen in this video:

I had the pleasure of doing this dance with my Indian friend’s family a few years ago at a spring Hindu celebration called Holi and it was a ton of fun, regardless of the fact that I am not Hindu and didn’t know hardly anything about the culture before meeting my friend!  Going to an event like Loyola’s Garba is a great way for students to understand and mingle with people of another religion and have some fun while doing so.

Hindu and non-Hindu students alike dancing at last year's Garba celebration in the Alumni Gym. (Credit: Shivam Jani)

Contacts

Any questions about Loyola’s Garba can be directed to HSO President Hiren Ghayal at hghayal@luc.edu or HSO
Vice President Bhumi Patel at bpatel1@luc.edu.