Stockwell's Blue Lounge was transformed by lights, balloons, decorations and an idol last night into the site of a Hindu ceremony celebrating Diwali, the festival of lights that marks the start of the Hindu new year.
Organized by the Michigan chapter of the Hindu Students Council, the event featured a prayer ceremony followed by homemade Indian food that had first been blessed.
The ceremony, which attracted about 200 people dressed in everything from casual clothes to formal, traditional Indian attire, was open to the public.
"Diwali is the last day of our Hindu calendar," said Jwalant Lakhia, Midwest regional coordinator of the national Hindu Student Council. "We're just getting together and celebrating with a cultural ceremony that will explain the significance of the festival itself," he said.
Engineering junior Ankur Agarwal, who took part in the prayer rituals and is a member of the University's HSC core group, said that the event was also aimed at keeping Hindu culture alive.
"(The event is held) to allow Hindu students on campus to come together and celebrate Diwali, which they usually celebrate at home but don't get a chance to at college," Agarwal said.
LSA first-year student Shruti Puri said the event was important in maintaining ties to her culture.
"I thought (the event) was a really good idea. Being far away from home I thought it's a really good way to keep connected with the culture and what's going on," Puri said.
The prayers were led by Sharada Kumar, president of Ann Arbor's Chinmaya mission, who offered a simple and humorous explanation of their significance, during the ceremony.
"Normally people come and go without really understanding what's happening," Kumar said. "When you involve everyone, the mood becomes different - everyone gets into it."
LSA first-year student Alexandra Beradi said she found the presentation educational.
"I was really happy about (the interpretation of the prayers) because I didn't really know much about it," Beradi said. "I'm glad they explained it."
LSA sophomore Christopher Jones agreed. "I thought it was really interesting. I really like to learn about other religions and I thought this was a great opportunity," Jones said.
In addition to the Diwali prayers, the organization provides weekly forums for students interested in Hinduism.
"Guest speakers will come in. We had a yoga seminar, we had interpretations of the great Hindu epics and how we can apply it to our lives," said Ponni Perumalswami, a member of HSC's core group.
Lakhia agreed. "Michigan is one of our strongest chapters. Whatever they do here, people from other chapters learn from that," he said.
AJA DEKLAVA COHEN/Daily
Sharada Kumar, president of Ann Arbor's Chinmaya mission, leads the puja prayer ceremony at Stockwell last night.