India Day 2022, commemorating the 75th anniversary of India’s Independence Day which occurred on Aug. 15, will be held Aug. 27 at Augusta University’s Grover C. Maxwell Performing Arts Theatre.
India Day is a celebration of Indian culture blended with American to show the two nations similarities, according to Chetan Patel, president of the Indo-American Cultural Association of the CSRA.
“We try to bring American people [to the show] also, there’s going to be a couple of American dancers too. So, it’s not just the integration of India, but it’s India and America together to try and promote both culture and try to merge them to see the similarities,” Patel said.
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Patel believes showing similarities between both countries will ultimately promote democracy, human rights, and peace through exposure to the two cultures.
“We’ve been doing this the last 30 years and the main reason we do it is so Americans can learn about India and the country’s culture. America is the one of the oldest democracies in the world, while India is one of the largest democracies,” he said. “It’s also so kids who are Indian, but grew up in the United States, can learn about their [heritage]. In school, here, they are predominantly taught the American history, so they don’t the history of how India got its freedom.”
Comparable to America’s 50 states and Southern versus Northern culture, Patel said India’s states all have slightly different dialects, clothes, food and customs. To include these differences, Patel said various dances, clothes, and music from several Indian states will be featured in the show.
The theme for the this year’s India Day is Past and Future and, as homage to the past, Patel said the event’s soundtrack will showcase the progression of music during the last 75 years in India highlighting different trends that were introduced over time.
“India is extremely diverse; we have over 100 languages spoken in India with many dialects,” he said.
The event will include many performers who range from the ages of 6 to 55 and was organized by eight or nine choreographers for the show.
“All the performers are volunteers and they started practicing back in the beginning of June, so they’ve been practicing for two and a half months now,” Patel said.
Patel even shared some of the traditional costumes for the show will be highly elaborate, taking one to three hours of preparation for every performer.
Vivian Sudharsan, a high schooler and experienced volunteer for the show, said, “I feel like it’s one of the only points in the year where we all come together culturally, because usually there are some separate events, but not everybody is in the same place at the same time like we are for this one.”
VIDEO: Rehearsal of India Day 2022 of the CSRA
He also shared he thinks spectators get a sense of community and the knowledge of just how many people associate themselves with the Indian culture.
Tickets are $10 per person and a large amount of the proceeds will be donated to a number of charities like Operation Foundation and Golden Harvest Food Bank. Indian food will be served in front of the theater at 5 p.m., and the performance will start around 5:30 p.m.
To purchase tickets visit: https://augusta.universitytickets.com/w/event.aspx?id=1605&r=85a12835c99e4fd6af68bacebaf20111
Liz Wright is a staff writer covering education and general assignments for The Augusta Press. Reach her at liz@theaugustapress.com
