Nepali and Indian Students Celebrate Dashain at DSU

This year, students attending Dakota State University had a very unusual opportunity to celebrate Dashain. The International Student Association held a magnificent event in which all students, both local and foreign, joined together to celebrate the festival. It was a day filled with scrumptious South Asian food, vibrant dresses, and loads and loads of dancing!

What is Dashain?

Dashain is regarded as one of the most significant Hindu festivals. It is a 15-day celebration that honors Goddess Durga’s victory over the monster Mahishasura, which represents good triumphing over evil. Dashain is a period for family reunions, religious rites, and joyous celebrations in Nepal and India.

Houses are cleaned and adorned, prayers are offered, and blessings are shared by exchanging tika (a red vermillion mark on the forehead) and Jamara (holy yellow barley shoots). At the DSU event, students took turns applying tika to one another, with upright smiles brightening up their faces with the blessings from the other person. It was a beautiful way to feel connected to their families back home, even though they were thousands of miles away.

Participation of the DSU International Community

The celebration was not only for the Nepali and Indian students. The international community at DSU came together to make it work. At the event, DSU Director of International Programs Ms. Nicole Claussen attended, cheering on the diverse student body at DSU. Many local students showed up too, and wanted to know more about Dashain and experience the culture.

The Potluck!

For me and most of the people who attended the event, the main highlight was the potluck. What better way to celebrate a festival than with food? Groups of four to five students, many of whom lived in the university dorms, teamed up to cook traditional dishes from their culture. There were dorms turned into mini-kitchens as students prepared everything from Indian curries and sweets, and Nepali Aaludam and Pulau. The dishes were brought to the TC underground and shared with everyone.  

The next activity that followed the potluck and tika ceremony was two hours of dancing! Some of the Bollywood and Nepali songs were played and shortly there was full house dancing. What the music did was unite everyone in a very natural, completely unforced sort of way. At the end of the day, we were all tired, smiling, and feeling good.

Being together on Dashain at DSU enabled students from diverse backgrounds to share and learn about each other’s traditions. Food or music might have been mentioned in the event, but it wasn’t just about that; the friendships and the understanding of each other it produced are what made that event.

When surrounded by people who care and want to be part of your traditions, it’s so easy to forget how far from home we are.