“Every Indian identifies him- or herself
with Diwali, and Deepotsav gives them an opportunity to reconnect to
their Indian roots,” said Achal Sahai, ISAR president. “With all the
food, performances and music, we hope that people got a taste of every
aspect of Indian culture. Dance was definitely the theme of the evening,
though.”

The students of Indian music specialists Chandrakantha
and David Courtney brought Indian classical music to life and Soujanya
Madhusudan, a popular dance artist, performed a classical dance. Rice
and University of Houston students then performed some attention-getting
Bollywood dances.

“As the evening unfolded, the enthusiasm
of the audience kept soaring, and the event ended on a high note with
everyone dancing to Bollywood music,” said Richa Sethi, ISAR vice
president.

The event also honored Sanjiv Arora, Houston
Consulate General of India, and Pulickel Ajayan, Rice’s Benjamin M. and
Mary Greenwood Anderson Professor in Mechanical Engineering and
Materials Science and of chemistry. Arora emphasized the important role
the student organizations play in bringing together the community and
educating everyone about traditions, culture and the society in general.
Ajayan talked about the importance of education as a process of
enlightenment and how Diwali too signified the journey toward
enlightenment.