Members of SASA come together to share celebrations for Hindu festival, Durga Puja

Members of the Hamilton community gathered on the third floor of the chapel last Friday, Sept. 3, to celebrate Durga Puja, a Hindu festival commemorating “the triumph of good over evil, female power and solidarity.” The celebration was hosted by the South Asian Student Association in collaboration with Spiritual and Religious Life and the International Cultural Association. The festivities began with a religious ritual observed before a shrine was dedicated to the Hindu goddess Durga, from which the festival takes its name. Durga Puja is predominantly celebrated in Eastern India, but many observe the holiday around the globe—including in Times Square, New York City. At Friday’s event, attendants ate from a plate of offerings to the goddess. A short while into the ceremony, President Tepper quietly entered the room and sat with student participants before the shrine.

After the religious ritual, the crowd broke apart, some assembling around the couches to chat and others serving themselves from a table laden with food catered by Minar. The room was festooned with floral garlands and a vase of flowers rested on each table. Dozens of flickering electric candles lit up the space. SASA president Ahaana Mahapatra ’27 delivered a brief speech on the significance of the holiday and then played a video depicting the goddess Durga’s battle with the demon Mahishasura. By this point, the chapel’s third floor was packed with students. The popularity of SASA has increased markedly since its inauguration last semester; club president Ahaana Mahapatra ’27 and treasurer Ashvath Srinivas ’28 were surprised and delighted at the success of the event. Launching and promoting SASA has included no small amount of struggle—the club has relied on other clubs and sources to make SASA events come to fruition. “It’s been tricky picking and choosing things from our culture to represent with such a limited budget,” said Mahapatra. “I’m hoping we can keep the ball rolling and hopefully secure more funding in the future!” Srinivas added, “Even with a small budget, we focus on creating authentic, community-oriented experiences.”

SASA hopes to expand its repertoire of events throughout the coming semester, making the club more inclusive and representative of diverse South Asian communities, traditions and facets of culture. Srinivas said, “This year, we’re working to scale up our events, making them bigger and more inclusive so that all students can learn about and appreciate the traditions and meanings behind each celebration.” Srinivas also observes that prejudice towards South Asian immigrants has been on the rise globally. SASA aims to address and combat anti-South Asian bigotry through dialogue: “One of our main goals this year, and hopefully this semester, is to host speaker events and panel discussions featuring members of the South Asian diaspora who can share their experiences and perspectives. Through these conversations, we want to highlight that South Asia is incredibly diverse and that our countries, languages and traditions are distinct and not (certainly not) monolithic.”

SASA was launched to provide Hamilton with “actual space dedicated for South Asian representation and culture . . . This was our way of trying to make space for ourselves and our community, but also to create a platform for us to share a little bit of home with the rest of the campus!” shared Mahapatra. The number of attendees at Friday’s event demonstrates the necessity of SASA as a communal hub for South Asian students on campus. Many non-South Asian students also took part in the event, hoping to learn about the holiday and join in on the fun. Mahapatra said, “if you are curious about anything Desi or just want to learn something new about the subcontinent, please come to our events and say hi! We are always happy to share our culture with everyone and we’d love to see more new faces at our next event!”

SASA hosts celebrations of diverse South Asians festivals, including Holi, Durga Puja and Sinhala Tamil New Year. The club has also organized Bollywood Pub Nights and Movie Nights, and every week they hold a meeting (Saturday, 4 p.m., DMC living room) where club members congregate to sip hot cups of chai and chat about goings-on. Mahapatra said, “We plan our events by asking our community what they’d like to see us do/what they miss about home and try our best to get as diverse of a coverage as we can of the subcontinent!” If student enthusiasm for SASA’s Durga Purja celebration is any indication, it’s clear that SASA is on its way towards becoming a veritable campus institution.