As the sun descended behind the Syracuse University horizon on Saturday night, a new light originated from the latitudes of southern Asia. It came in the form of neon lights, an ocean of glittering sequins and the smiles of gyrating belly dancers, stirring the night from its quiet, peaceful slumber.

And when students started moving in bejeweled garb to the beat of distant drums, a representation of Asian culture in the Schine Underground was complete.

Home to multi-cultural events such as the Latino-inspired Caf con Leche, the Underground was once again transformed into a melting pot during South Asian Twist, an event sponsored by MASTI. The MASTI group – a club open to people of different Asian ethnicities – created the event in order to raise money for the Tsunami cause. By the end of the night, the group had successfully drawn a sold-out crowd surpassing 300 people and raised a total of $800 for the cause.

The overall mission of the showcase included not only Tsunami relief but also exposure to the various facets of Asian culture, said Sovy Azhath, a broadcast journalism major and the vice president of MASTI.

‘Our goal was to bring the Asian community together on the Hill and to spread the culture to others,’ Azhath said. ‘MASTI shows what it means to be Asian in a world with so much diversity.’

Before the event kicked off its 17 acts of traditional song and dance, participants were able to take advantage of the ethnic food and free henna tattooing offered at different stations near the stage.

After filling her plate with Indian samosa, tortilla chips and chicken kabob, freshman environment science major Tina Notas headed toward the Henna tattoo table. Upon hearing that her tattoo would last 15 to 20 days, she could hardly contain her excitement.

‘Oh wow!’ Notas said. ‘This is totally awesome – I feel so privileged.’

In a matter of moments, Notas assumed her seat with an ornately designed palm and the fresh scent of henna paste in her nostrils, ready to watch the show.

The first eight acts included a wide range of performance varieties, from classical dance and singing solos to Turkish belly dancing and syncopated dance troupes.

One of the dance troupes was the Rangeela Raas and Garba Team, a newly formed group at SU that hopes to establish itself next semester. The choreographer for the dance number and a member of the Bhangra dance team, junior psychology major Ami Bhardwaj, said she hoped the Garba dance taught others about the impact of Indian culture.

‘A lot of people don’t know about Indian culture and the influence of the culture in music,’ Bhardwaj said. She added that SU is ‘extremely behind’ in terms of its Bhangra club involvement compared to other universities.

A brief intermission provided performers the opportunity to rest and socialize, while many audience members went back for second helpings of ethnic food. The intermission was concluded with a brief rap music video entitled ‘Drop It Like a Fob,’ which featured the music stylings of artist Anoop Dogg.

The last nine acts of the show revealed performers who were diverse in terms of both global origin and age group. The second half included not only a 6-year-old dancer and an older Indian native named Hari, but dance groups such as the Bhangra, the Indo Caribbean and the Kalabash.

Each act evoked a string of eruptions from a large group of interactive fans that stood behind the regular audience. Throughout the show, the group chanted performer names and whistled during provocative dance moves, adding another element of energy to the show.

One of the boisterous fans, computer engineering graduate student Ganesh Devarajan, expressed an immense level of admiration and excitement for the performances.

‘We are like the backstage people here,’ Devarajan said. ‘We came out together because this kind of thing doesn’t happen much at SU.’

Considering the large attention Twist received from the Asian community, Azhath said that MASTI is looking into bringing the event to Goldstein Auditorium next year. The group may also bring Diwali, one of the most sacred Hindu celebrations for the New Year, to campus next November.

While the group has already begun to plan future events based on increasing global awareness, several obstacles may impede MASTI from furthering its commitment to diversity.

This year the group will lose its first president, senior child and family studies major Savitree Hanif, in addition to a continued lack of support from the Student Association.

‘We had no help from SA at all – we had to work our butt off getting funds,’ Azhath said. ‘We should be recognized as an established organization on campus, compared to those who they provide funding to.’

Yet Azhath is optimistic about the MASTI executive board’s ability to provide effective programming and remain a powerful organization on campus in the future.

‘We went from nothing to something, but we can’t stop here – we gotta keep on getting stronger as the year goes by.’

The hard work that Azhath and the rest of MASTI put into the program has not gone unnoticed.

‘The costumes were beautiful; every woman is so good-looking,’ said Jessie Kershaw, a sophomore broadcast journalism major. ‘It’s important because SU prides itself on diversity. It’s a good opportunity to open yourself and explore something you’ve explored before.’

Published on March 27, 2005 at 12:00 pm