There were no storms in the skies on a sunny afternoon Saturday at IUPUI, but there were rainbows everywhere.
Over 100 students ran around a grassy knoll between academic buildings, throwing vibrant colored powders in the air and smearing them on each other’s faces.
They were celebrating Holi, the Indian festival of colors, which marks the arrival of spring in India and the victory of good over evil.
Saturday’s celebration was the first hosted by a new club on campus, Swadesh at IU Indianapolis. The group was founded after a similar student organization, DesiJags, announced a pause to events this semester due to the IUPUI split.
The closure meant that students may not have been able to celebrate Holi on campus this year, which was a concern for sophomore Anish Bhawal, the president and founder of Swadesh. IUPUI has a robust Indian student community, especially among its graduate students. In total, 52% of international students — graduate and undergraduate — at IUPUI are from India this year, according to data provided by IU.
He founded the club this semester, in part, to ensure that these cultural traditions were able to continue for Indian and non-Indian students alike.
“When I came here, I wanted to create something new or create something which would get a lot of people going and would help make the campus more inclusive and more active in general,” said Bhawal, a 19-year-old who hails from Durgapur, a city in western India.
Finding community
Though adjusting to college is hard for many people, international students face the added pressures of adjusting to a new culture. That’s in addition to the normal academic and social pressures that students face when starting a new educational journey.
For many Indian students, being able to meet students who share their backgrounds and experiences is a way to adjust to life in a new place and feel less alone.
“Having a culture shock is something that only people who come from across seas will get,” said Vaibhavi Singh, a 19-year-old freshman and co-event director for Swadesh. “Talking to them about it and the empathy that develops between the two people really helps.”
That’s exactly what Swadesh is trying to cultivate at IUPUI. The club’s name, which means “one’s own country” in Hindi, aims to be a “home away from home” for international students, both those from India and other countries.
Bhawal hopes the club can be a resource for the myriad of international students at IUPUI, answering their questions about everything from where to find Indian grocery stores in the city to homesickness to student loans.
“I feel like if there’s a place where they do a really good job making everyone feel included, whether it be international or domestic students, that is really important,” Bhawal said.
That’s also important to Mangilal Agarwal, a professor at IUPUI and the club’s faculty advisor.
When Agarwal came to the U.S. from India more than two decades ago, he didn’t have anyone to help him navigate life in a new country.
Years later, Agarwal tries to be that anchor for his Indian and international students. He gives them his cell phone number, so they can call him if they have an emergency or just need to talk.
“I try to be there and with them so that they don’t feel alone,” Agarwal said. “Or they feel like they belong to the campus, belong to the community here. I make them feel like, ‘You are part of this.’”
Creating new traditions
Holi on a college campus in Indianapolis, of course, isn’t the same as celebrating back in India.
For one, Holi was actually celebrated nearly three weeks ago — weather and scheduling issues delayed the campus event. In India, traditional celebrations last two days, including a night of bonfires and prayer, followed by the barrage of colors in the street the next morning. There’s traditional sweets, feasts and delicacies.
But as with most holidays, it’s about the people. Each year, Singh’s family comes from all parts of India to celebrate together, making it a family reunion. This year, though, she finds herself embracing new traditions by planning the event through Swadesh.
“Celebrating Holi after so long,” she said, “it’s nostalgic.”
Toward the end of the event, people mob club organizers to grab pichkaris, which are long, thin squirt guns. Students run around drenching their friends with water, another Holi tradition.
It’s not the same as back in India, but students are laughing and having fun. Here and now, that’s enough.
“It’s the Indian vibe that brings everyone joy,” said Yeshwant Kasa, a graduate student in computer science. “We welcome each and every one. It’s all about enjoyment.”
Claire Rafford covers higher education for Mirror Indy in partnership with Open Campus.
Got a higher ed story? Contact reporter Claire Rafford at claire.rafford@mirrorindy.org or on social media @clairerafford.
Republish our articles for free, online or in print, under a Creative Commons license.
