I admit, it was the thought of trying new cuisines that brought me out to the event, but I must begin by saying that the dinner was just a small part of the Pakistani Students Association’s show. Of course, there were the dances, the fashions, and the random jokes which entertained just as much as the food—perhaps even more so.
The Academy Hall Auditorium was decorated in green and white—the colors of the Pakistani flag—with green tablecloths placed across four long tables. Sound checks were still being done by the time I arrived (I don’t blame them, I came rather early), but as more people filed in, the performers started to go backstage to prepare for their acts. To begin the show, Nehal Patel ’07 sang the “Star Spangled Banner,” which was then followed by Wasif Khan ’09 and his rendition of the Pakistani National Anthem.
The audience then sat down to watch as Sarah Khan and Ahsan Memon emerged onstage to host the show. They first introduced Sehrish Khan ’10, Jasmine Patel ’09, and Akhila Pamula ’09 with their dance to the song “Aaja Soniye” by Mujhse Shaadi Karogi. The first half of the dance involved the clicking of dandiya—a pair of short sticks—which was then replaced by fancy hand movements and footwork.
This act was then followed by another dance, titled “Dhoom,” during which Sonia Brar ’08 and Shazneen Hushmendy ’07 performed a contemporary dance to various songs. Apparently, both dancers created and practiced the dance in a total of three days, which is quite impressive, as the performance itself contained much movement.
The first half was completed with “Classical Sounds,” an act involving drums and two sitars. Aparajit Naram ’08, Kevin Itwaru ’07, and Helai Hesham ’07 played a few musical pieces to entertain the crowd. Even as Memon called for intermission, the trio continued to play a few more pieces as a backdrop for patrons as they ate their dinners.
The event finally came to the part which people were definitely looking forward to—food. A table outside was set up with a number of dishes ordered from an Indian restaurant. Many of the foods were very spicy, a delight to some and a pain to others. On the table, cuisines such as bhel puri (a type of appetizer), naan (bread), biryani (rice), and curry chicken were available. There was much clamoring afterward for some kher dessert, which is a type of rice pudding. Usually, intermissions are the time for people to walk out of the building and make a small call or take in the fresh air and whatnot. The dinner, however, was completely worth staying in the auditorium for.
As dinner and intermission finally came to a close, the second half of the PakSA show started off with a fashion show. This show encompassed three segments (each segment ran to a different song). Traditional male and female garbs were displayed to the rhythm of upbeat catwalk music in the background. Sure, it looked pleasant to the audience, but it wasn’t a walk in the park for those participating in the show.
“It got a little hectic during the fashion show,” Zara Aziz ’10, PakSA treasurer, commented. “There were no lights backstage, and there were so many people. Time became an issue, and we weren’t able to get through all three segments by the end of the third song.”
Once the fashion show ended, Memon and Khan announced another dance performance titled “Celebration” this time by Sreoshy Banerjea ’09. In her Indian dress, Banerjea wove and spun around the stage in a flurry of color as people clapped along to her performance. Memon had then later commented that it was “quite a celebration.”
The last act of the night was a performance of “B-boy Bhangra,” which featured dancers Syed Ali ’07, Sharran Deora ’07, Neil Desai ’09, Uzair Memon ’08, Ikenna Okoli ’07, Amit Parikh ’07, and Patel. Senior members were honored afterward with roses, a sign of thanks for their dedication and membership in PakSA during their time at RPI. Once the seniors were honored, the audience finally started to file out of Academy Hall, their minds filled with memories of stimulating performance and their stomachs filled with spicy nourishment.
