India Night inspires cross-cultural connection

The 17th Annual India Night, hosted by the Indian Student Association (ISA), brought pieces of South Asian culture to Bozeman on Saturday, Feb. 1, when the Strand Union Building (SUB) came alive with traditional food, song, dance and fashion. 

Students and community members packed the SUB ballrooms for a showcase that featured performances by the Sri Lankan Student Association, the Nepali Student Association and the Footloose Fusion Dance Club. Each performance demonstrated an aspect of South Asian culture, accompanied by a mix of modern and traditional music and clothing. 

President of the ISA Shramana Ghosh expressed her goal in hosting the event was to share her culture with the Bozeman community.  

“I organize this event, not for the Indian people, but for others, so that we can share our culture and food. It's more of a showcase than an internal celebration,” she said. “Getting to know people from other cultures opens your mind in a completely different way.” 

Isabelle Monroe, MSU alum and fifth-time attendee of India Night, remarked on the event’s significance to the community and her own life. 

“Quite a few of my good friends are from India, so it's helpful to have a context of understanding them better as a person and understanding the different cultural norms or different things that are specific to the culture that they grew up in,” she said.

Ghosh emphasized the role that food plays in cultural exchange and her excitement in offering a selection of her country’s traditional cuisine. The menu consisted of onion pakoras, butter chicken, chole masala, poori, dal, jeera rice and mango lassi. Ghosh reflected on the previous year’s India Night and the experience of sharing her national foods. 

“Last year when I was a volunteer what I saw was, even before the performance ended — when the food started coming in and people started to get that aroma — they jumped out of their seats, even before we were done with our final act,” she said. “That kind of excitement gives me a different kind of happiness. People are so excited about our food.” 

As enthusiastic as members of the ISA were to share their food, those in attendance were just as excited to eat it. Marina Campbell, a second-time attendee of India Night, noted the value of having another culture shared with you through food. 

“It's different than just going to a restaurant,” Campbell said. “It's different when someone brings you something they like.”

The event drew a crowd of more than 350 people, according to Ghosh. The showcase portion of the event was free to the public while a dinner ticket was $8 for students and $10 for everyone else.

Ghosh noted how helpful the University staff was with planning the event and how supportive MSU is of its international student associations. 

“I've never faced an obstacle organizing this event,” she said. “Everyone I've ever approached from the MSU staff, faculty — everyone has been so helpful and so forward with me. I was panicking a little, like how is this event going to come about? But the people I went to for funds, for organizations, for catering, they were super helpful.”

Ghosh remarked on the work the ISA does outside of hosting this event and the significant role that student associations play to help South Asian international students acclimate to MSU.  

“Even before I accepted my admission letter, I got in touch with the ISA. That's kind of our primary goal here, to get in touch with students, orient them about MSU and Bozeman and provide that extra resource,” Ghosh said. “Bozeman is not a big city where you would find a lot of international people around. You need to know some people beforehand just to make you settle down here as an international person.” 

The ISA is open to all students who are interested in learning more about Indian culture. To get involved with the ISA, follow its Instagram @ISABozeman.