ISH-DC knows how to give a good start to a month by throwing a bash. Friday, March 1, was Bollywood Night. The evening started off with a dinner to give everyone a little taste of India. The menu was lentil soup, mughlai chicken, bhindi masala okra, basmati rice, cauliflower and potato, and naan. The festivities didn’t stop there and neither did the touch of India, as many residents came dressed for the celebration.

The party continued in the Great Hall and lasted all night.  The hall was supremely decorated with four disco lights and tons of white sparkling lights lining the walls and crisscrossing the ceiling. The walls were adorned with Bollywood movie posters, and images of the most famous Bollywood actors and actresses in their iconic roles.  A projector had been set up to display Bollywood movie clip music videos and extra speakers were brought up to pump up the volume.

There was a singing performance by ISH-DC Alumna Adyasha.  This was followed by a showing of the FRIENDS video shot by residents over winter break.  Then the ISH Bollywood Dance Crew took center stage for a three song performance covering decades of music styles (Ask a current resident if you want to see the video recording).

Photo: Bollywood Dance Crew at Photo Booth after performance

The rest of night all residents were able to use the Bollywood photo booth, have some drinks (mango lassi as a special treat), eat some snacks, samosas and aloo chat (just to name the hot foods, which isn’t even mentioning an entire snack table), use henna to make themselves temporary tattoo artists and dance the night away.  All residents got to learn a few new dance moves to get into the Bollywood style of dancing.

Bollywood night was not just a party – it was a destination.

Despite the cold and impending final papers and presentations, December still managed to hold some fun and engaging opportunities here at the House.

The evening of Tuesday, December 4, ISH-DC was lucky to have Jim Lehrer as our guest speaker, and the following Friday, Catalin Dima, I-House NY alumnus and concert pianist, performed in our Great Hall.  Sunday completed the week as a group of residents held a gift exchange hosted by a fellow resident.

Jim Lehrer is a journalist, novelist, news anchor and presidential debate moderator. He brought his wealth of knowledge on politics, public speaking and how to “handle” tough questions (notice, that I said handle and not answer!) The House’s own Alex Beck shared introductory remarks to begin the evening.

Mr. Lehrer worked in television in Dallas where he interviewed many politicians.  He had fun sharing that if you ever get a tough question, the first step is to praise the questioner for the greatness of their question, then launch into a story from your childhood, where hopefully you can seamlessly transition away from the question. When you finish your long winded story, simply say next question. I for sure took away quite a bit on how to not answer a question! If I have a tough interview, I will try out his techniques. (Better keep reading this blog to find out how it goes.)

Mr. Lehrer also discussed what it is like to be a moderator/interviewer. He says that after each debate or interview is over that he never wants the discussion to be about how he did, but to be about how the candidate or interviewee was. The sign of a good moderator is that the attention is on the debaters.  Mr. Lehrer sure knows how to handle himself and a crowd. All of us students were able to learn much from such an experienced professional.

Next we enjoyed the musical talents of Catalin Dima, who was gracious to not only play a few pieces for residents, but to spend time chatting both before and after the performance.  Catalin is an alumna of the International House in New York, or “I-House” as those who live there call it. I really liked his story and was very happy that he spent time speaking before his pieces to the crowd gathered in the Great Hall. He discussed his life and his time at an International Student House. He is Romanian, studied in NYC and currently resides in Oklahoma, as part of the music faculty at Southeastern Oklahoma State University Department of Music.

Catalin performed two pieces for us. The first of which was Frederic Chopin’s 24 preludes, op.28 and the second of which was Maurice Ravel’s Gaspard de la nuit. He performed both beautifully.  My favorite part of the evening was when Catalin discussed the piece Gaspard de la nuit. He talked about symbolism, and how through the piano symbolism of water, sensuality, bells, love and much more can be heard. I am a mathematician at heart, and find it best to view the world through hard objective numbers. However, his explanation of the symbols within the music, opened my ears to that heartwarming sound. I didn’t just hear the technical strokes of the keys, but the chimes of bells and the sounds of moving water. This piece truly is a poem, allowing the listener to hear a love song. He has a gift, a talent for bringing music to life.  He ended the night by saying that he hopes to see us all again in Carnegie Hall.

Finally, our White Elephant gift exchange. What are the rules to White Elephant you might be asking. Well, they are as follows:

1. Place wrapped gifts in center and have all participants circle around
2. Each participant is randomly assigned a number from 1 to however many participants there are
3. Number one goes first
4. Number one chooses a gift, unwraps it and holds it up for all to see
5. For each subsequent number/individual, either steal a gift or choose to open a new gift
6. If a gift is stolen, the participant can either steal from someone else or open a new gift
7. A gift can only be stolen 3 times, by the fourth owner, the gift is out of the game
8. Once everyone has a gift number one can steal from anyone if they choose
9. If number one chooses to steal they must place their open gift in the center. The player that was stolen from must either choose to take the gift in the middle or steal from another participant. This continues until either all of the gifts have been stolen 3 times or someone wants the gift in the middle

There was a lovely display of gifts. There were books, mugs, ornaments and chocolates galore. The gifts represented many different countries just as the participants do – for example there was both Swiss and Japanese candy. Multiple gifts got stolen the maximum amount of times, including a large, soft and fluffy Reindeer pillow, a book entitled “How to Become an American”, and a gift bag with a gingerbread man ornament, chocolates and a puzzle book. All who participated had a blast!

Diwali, the Indian festival of lights, evokes myriad memories of spectacular fireworks on a moonless autumnal night, homes illuminated by dozens of bright lamps, and family and friends visiting each other and sharing traditional sweets and other delicacies. Its religious significance aside, the festival brings together communities by symbolizing the triumph of good over evil, hope over despair, knowledge over ignorance, and light over darkness.

On November 7, 2018, for the first time in its history, ISH-DC was bathed in the spirit of Diwali – fairy lights adorned the walls and beautifully-painted earthen lamps lined the corridors. In fact, the word “Diwali” is derived from a Sanskrit word meaning “a series of lights”. Residents, some of them dressed in colorful traditional costumes (Sarees, sherwanis, kurtas, – you name it), thronged the venue in enthusiasm for an unforgettable soiree. A few residents let their artistic juices flow, helping the others apply henna tattoos (also called Mehndi in several Indian languages) – and we witnessed some very impressive designs! We also had different South Asian snacks and sweets that residents gorged on.

Diwali holds a special place in my heart because it coincides with my birthday in accordance to the Hindu lunar calendar. However, this Diwali will always remain the most inspiring one, because I was given an opportunity to put up a special Bollywood singing performance for the residents – and it was the first time I sang with all my heart and soul before such a large, encouraging audience! Residents Sunny Dharod, Bob Zeng, Krista Heinonen and I also performed before the rest a Bollywood dance sequence (complete with facial expressions and synchronized movements), in the midst of jubilant cheering and applause by our equally energized fellow residents.

Needless to say, the revelries had just begun!  A mélange of colors and cultural backgrounds merged into a pixelated unity when all the residents came together to groove to Bollywood chartbusters and festive beats on the dance floor that the ISH-DC lobby had transformed into. Finally, keeping with the traditional spirit of Diwali, we gathered to light mini-sparklers. What stood out was the beaming smiles and unrestrained laughter. Such a blissful way to bring to a close a festival that triggers nostalgia and ties me, just like many other residents, to our roots. The ISH-DC community is a close-knit family after all!