Results!

1st and 2nd place winners for each event are shown below.

I-Story

1st. Mahjabin Chowdhury, Bangladesh

2nd. Shruti Anand, Indian New Years Festivals

I-Show

1st. Amla Patil, Chaturanga

2nd. Nikita Gambani, Indian Folk Dance

I-Show (fashion)

1st. Sudip Paul and Co.

This festival is dear to me because it takes place where my mother was born, so I have heard a lot about this magical place. – Marisol Menendez

This is a presentation about the Indian New Year festivals. Every state/region has different celebrations and festivities for New Year in India. – Shruti Anand

This presentation is about the cultural representation of Bangladesh, it’s history, how Bangladesh emerged as a country in the world, how it’s related to International Mother language day, national symbols of Bangladesh and so on. Through this presentation, my goal is to introduce the Bangladeshi culture and diversity to everyone. – Mahjabin Chowdhury

Manuel gives a summary of his experience with the culture of Venezuela.

Indian Republic Day Celebration Dance Performance

by Vaishnav Meduri

This is a modern version of a famous Bengali song that was originally performed by the legendary musician S.D. Burman.

by Shah Akib Sarwar

This is a Tagore song and Rabindranath Tagore is a noble laureate. This song mainly describes the natural beauty of Bangladesh

by Sejuti Mondal

The performance depicts a traditional folk dance from the Indian state, Rajasthan. An integral part of Rajasthani history and culture, this dance is incomplete without the colorful attire, ghagra choli and bold silver jewelry.

by Nikita Gambani

“Chaturanga is one of the Indian classical music compositions, which incorporates four different styles as follows-

1. Bol – poetry set to the selected raaga

2. Sargam – singing note passages using note names

3. Tarana – syllables set to a brisk laya

4. Trivat / tabla bols – tabla or pakhavaj bols set to tune.

The presented Chaturanga is performed in Kathak (Indian classical dance form). This consists of a short story of Kaliyamardan, where Lord Krishna defeats Kaliya; the dreaded, multi-hooded snake in the River Yamuna and begins to dance on its several hoods.”

by Amla Patil

This is an Indian Contemporary Dance performance on the song ‘Teri Mitti’. It is a fusion of Indian classical dance with elements from ballet and jazz. The song is a patriotic and heart-warming portrayal of a soldier’s love for his motherland. Although, I am sure every international student who is far away from their home country will be able to emotionally connect with this song.
The song literally translates as –
‘O’Motherland I do not regret, for you I’d bear a hundred blows
May your glory stay intact, whether I live or die
My land, my beloved, your love runs in my veins
With every drop of my blood, I’ll ensure your color never fades
To mix with your soil (teri mitti), and blossom again as a flower..
That is all my heart desires..
To flow in your rivers, and sway in your green fields..
That is all my heart desires.. ’

Bangladesh is a multicultural country where people from different cultural backgrounds and celebrate together. Bangladeshi traditional wear varies based on these different cultural celebrations. Today, Bangladesh Student Association, Texas A&M University is presenting the diversity of the traditional costumes based on different cultural celebrations of Bangladesh.

Segment 1: Bengali New Year (Pohela Boishakh)

Participants: Farrhin Nowshad & Md Nazibul Islam

Attire and accessories:

● Female: Shari (White and red combination, Clay made ornaments, kacher churi, big red flower for hair)

● Male: Red pujabi with white salwar, it would be great if it comes with a shawl on one side. Script: Bengali new year is termed as ‘Pohela Boishakh’ and is celebrated every year on the April 14 th with the traditional attires of red and white. The day begins with a colorful procession named as ‘Mongol Shovajatra’ and Rabindra Sangeet/songs of Tagore followed by daylong fairs. Red and White colors are seen in everyone’s attire. Women wear red saree (a long cloth draped around the body, traditionally worn by women in South Asia) and men wear punjabi (a long shirt).

Segment 2: Indigenous New Year Celebration (Boishabi)

Participants: Sudip Paul & Banachhaya Choudhury

Attire and accessories:

● Female: Indigenous dress with indigenous ornaments if possible

● Male: Anything that matches with the female portion Script:“Boishabi”- the indigenous new year celebration, is not merely a festival; it is the glorification of traditional and cultural festivals of the indigenous communities in the hill districts of Bangladesh. Eight communities – Chakma, Marma, Tangchangya, Tripura, Mro, Khumi, Khiyang and Chak – celebrate the festival, which displays a greater amity among themselves and a similarity in their culture and traditions.

Segment 3: Eid (-ul-adaha, -ul-fitr)

Participants: Arif Arman & Samia Tasnim

Attire and accessories:

● Female and male: Shafa apu janen :p Script: Being a muslim majority country, Eid-ul-Fitr and Eid-Ul Adha are two major festivals of Bangladesh. Eid-ul-Fitr is the celebration of the end of the month of Ramadan, the month of fasting. On the other hand, Eid-Ul-Adha is the celebration of the spirit of sacrifice. In Eid, women wear colorful red or gold Shari and boys wear punjabi or kurta.

Segment 4: Sharodia Durga Puja

Participants: Wahida Akter & Shariful Bhuiyan

Attire and accessories:

● Female: Blue shari, best combined with silver ornaments (or something whitish) with white big flower for hair.

● Male: Blue-White combination pujabi-salwar. If we can manage dhuti, that would be even better. Dhak would be another accessory. Script: Sharodia Durga Puja is an annual Hindu festival that is celebrated to pay homage to the goddess Durga. This festival epitomises the victory of good over evil. Everyone wears blue and white attire on this day. The word ‘Sharodia’ originates from bengali word ‘Sharat’ for autumn. The vastness of clear blue sky after monsoon and river banks dazzling with long silver ‘kash’ grass symbolizes the season, which is reflected in the blue-white combination attire of women and men.

Segment 5: Festival for new crop (Nobanno)

Participants: Umme Habiba Shuma & Md. Zahidul Islam

Attire and accessories:

● Female: Green (preferably new leaf green or kola pata rong) shari worn in atpoure/traditional bengali fashion, combined with maduli, bronze ornaments. If kula is manageable then should come to stage with that.

● Male: Should dress like a farmer, come with kaste (if manageable) and a bunch of new cut crop (could be found pet stores, grains with leaves). So, white top, lungi, gamcha, maduli. To make it more authentic, no shoes if possible. Script: Nobanno: the literal meaning of this word is “feast.” This is a Bengali harvest celebration. On this day, farmers start to harvest crops from fields. This day is usually celebrated with traditional food, dance and music in Bangladesh.

Segment 6: Spring festival (Boshonto Utsav)

Participants: Ineen Sultana & Imtiaz Ahmed Avi

Attire and accessories:

● Female: Bashonti shari, floral ornaments.

● Male: matching colored Fotua and pant (pant preferably white), carrying deshi musical instruments like bashi or dotara in hand if possible. Script: Boshonto Utsav or spring festival is celebrated to mark the first day of spring. Yellow, green and white are the colors for this day. Women wear floral ornaments to symbolize the greeneries and new blooms in nature. Segment 7: Ending Script: Finally, despite all the differences in cultural celebrations, BANGLADESH is a land of cultural harmony where people of all faiths and cultural backgrounds celebrate together peacefully.