Waves of attendees from Charlottesville’s Indian community entered Albemarle High School auditorium Saturday for India Day — the largest event that is held annually by the University’s Indian Student Association. The day showcased several of the University’s Indian culture clubs, including a variety of dance and music teams.
The program featured routines from many of these groups, giving performers the opportunity to showcase the choreography and music they have developed throughout the year. In addition to competition routines performed by established teams, the event also included informal dances from the broader student community, with participation from first-year through fourth-year students.
In between dances, there was a short intermission during which guests were served bottles of mango lassi — a popular Indian drink — from Maharaja. The program also featured a fashion show, where attendees who signed up prior to the event were allowed to walk on the main stage to Bollywood music and have professional pictures taken. After all the performances were over, guests were guided to the cafeteria to enjoy Indian dishes catered from Maharaja.
Sanjana Murugavel, ISA President and fourth-year College student, echoed the importance of bringing a broad student community together for India Day, and said that the event highlights the sense of connection among the organization.
“Our members’ love for each other and their love for our culture drives everything,” Murugavel said. “India Day is such a beautiful showcase of that — groups of best friends walking out together during the fashion show, people meeting for the first time to learn a class dance at the AFC and gaining a new familiar face, students dragging each other onto the stage even if they don’t know every move of the choreography … I couldn't think of a better way to end the year.”
Each year, the ISA Board collectively chooses a theme to make each India Day feel distinct from past events. This year’s theme was “Love Island,” with the stage featuring bright, tropical decorations, including a large banner reading “Love Island: Desi Villa,” large paper flowers and colorful streamers. During transitions between performances, organizers also incorporated playful commentary inspired by the show.
Although India Day is a decade-long tradition, the event underwent some logistical changes this year due to their usual venue — the Martin Luther King Jr. Performing Arts Center — being unavailable. Thus, the event was held at Albemarle High School.
Despite the changes, attendees found the event to be exciting and engaging, kicking off with lively introductions from the hosts — fourth-year Commerce and College student Navya Aenugu, fourth-year College student Tik Nalamalapu, fourth-year College student Mayukha Rajupalepu, fourth-year Engineering and College student Adnan Murtaza, fourth-year College student Bhadra Kadangal, Graduate Commerce student Priyanshi Jeevagan and fourth-year College student Tanvee Sunkari.
The first performance group of the afternoon was Ektaal, a co-ed a cappella group that performed renditions of popular Bollywood songs, including ‘Balam Pichkari’ and ‘Radha.’ Ektaal was one of two vocal teams to showcase their work during India Day, alongside Spicmacay, a classical music group.
Throughout the day, there were performances from each class, from first-years through fourth-years, for which participants had spent the past couple weeks learning and refining the routines. Each performance was fully student-choreographed and brought together participants from multiple different dance and vocal teams to create one, unified ensemble per class.
Rohit Paka, ISA board member and first-year Engineering student, explained how an element of India Day involves giving members of the broader student community the opportunity to participate in the dancing, with the class dance uniting both non-dancers and dancers, performing outside of their primary styles and organizations.
“The shows involve dances [and] singing from all teams that we have here at U.Va. … We give an opportunity for the regular student community to participate as well. We have first-year dances all the way through fourth-year dances,” Paka said.
First-year College student Saanvi Yarla attended India Day to watch her friends perform. She said she was amazed by the execution of the performances as well as the diversity of the event.
“All the performances were great. They're all unique and it just shows all the diversity [of the Indian community] ... I’d love to come back next year,” Yarla said.
Virginia Ke Aashiq, a premiere, gender-inclusive Bollywood fusion team that was founded in 2020, was the first official dance team to perform. Their piece combined several styles of dance, including Bollywood hip-hop, classical and Bhangra — a Punjabi folk dance — to deliver a routine inspired by the anime Death Note.
For Shivaths Karne, VKA dancer and first-year Engineering student, the atmosphere at India Day was different from the typical competitive performances many dance groups are used to.
“This performance was like no other because there were just no risks [and] no restraints. [You] just get up there [after] you've been working hard all year [and] just perform your set,” Karne said. “You can hear some of us just screaming, because it's just … a lot of emotion. Normally you obviously can't be screaming on stage, but it's India Day, … it's just all your friends in the audience. You just scream, you yell, you just have fun.”
For Srimaan Suribhotla, VKA dancer and fourth-year College student, India Day, as well as his dance team as a whole, allows him to dance for his community — both academic and cultural.
“It's special. It's different to perform at your own school, in front of your own crowd and your own people,” Suribhotla said. “I've been doing this for four years [and] didn't even dance before college. [I] kind of came in [and] just figured it out. That's [a] really special feeling.”
Later in the program, HooRaas, the University’s premier Garba-Raas — Gujarati folk dance — team, took to the stage. Malav Shah, HooRaas dancer and first-year College student, described the sense of freedom he felt performing at India Day, without the pressure of competition or perfection.
“It's just such a fun day because we just all get to perform for fun, smile and enjoy [ourselves] with the spring newbies on the team. Just a really fun day to end our season,” Shah said.
Many performers shared that India Day can also be a bittersweet moment, as it is the last time graduating students will take the stage at the University. After taking the stage, Suribhotla shared all that his final performance with his team meant to him, having watched many of his teammates come full-circle.
“It means so much. A lot of these guys, I've seen them [grow] … [and even] helped a lot of these guys get on the team. A lot of the first years, second years [and] especially third years are my closest friends, so it's a special moment,” Suribhotla said.
For performers and audience members alike, India Day is a meaningful tradition that allows students to connect with their culture. It is about more than just the performances on stage — it reflects the diversity within Indian performing arts and the ability of different student groups to come together as one community. Third-year College student Prithvi Seri was in attendance and reflected on the scale of the event and the sense of community it fostered for him.
“It’s super cool to see how many people are part of this, the shared culture and community that we have, and seeing this all on display for a night. That's super cool … It's always a super rewarding experience, and it's so fun being on stage or just watching,” Seri said.
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