Students displayed Indian culture through song, dance and clothing during the schoolwide Diwali celebration on Oct. 21 hosted by South Asian Student Association, Hindi National Honor Society and Hindi teacher Vibha Goswami.

Sophomore Saachi Gupta choreographed and participated in a dance to popular bollywood song “Nagada Sang Dhol.”

“I went to the interest meeting for the celebration because I wanted to dance, but I didn’t expect to choreograph the dance,” Gupta said. “I love being on stage. I’m nervous before and after my performances because I don’t know how I’ve done, but I like performing.”

After the performances, guests were greeted with a variety of Indian delicacies supplied by parent volunteers on Main Street: samosas, saag paneer and naan, gulab jamun, jalebi, Limca and Thumbs Up.

“My students and I made sure we got food that would be liked by everyone,” Hindi teacher Vibha Goswami said. “Saag paneer and naan are universally loved, and who doesn’t love samosa.”

Right outside the auditorium, attendees could get simple mehndi designs and take pictures with the wall of flower garlands and diyas.

“I thought the henna was pretty and an interesting part of Indian culture,” junior Jingyu Wu said. “Since I’m from East Asia and I don’t know much about South Asia, the traditions, colors and costumes amazed me.”

Although the night had a few hiccups, Gupta said she enjoyed displaying her culture to her friends.

“I think the event was great for the amount of time we had,” Gupta said. “It was rushed and not completely organized since we put it together in two weeks, but I had a lot of fun.”

Goswami believes that the celebration demonstrated the Diwali tradition of giving by teaching about Indian culture.

“At our Diwali celebration, we educated people about Indian culture, which was our goal,” Goswami said. “Even if you aren’t taking Hindi, I want everyone to know what Indian culture and Diwali is.”