Between 23rd September and 2nd October, the National University of Singapore Indian Cultural Society organized a cultural fortnight in celebration of our rich tradition and culture. As almost all the Indians in NUS are caught up in the rush of studies and examinations, they would have had little time to learn about their own culture. As such, this fortnight was aimed at giving them an accurate yet brief overview of some of our many different practices. In addition, it was an opportunity to show off to the non – Indian community of NUS the different ways Indians adorn themselves and their homes.

Over the dates mentioned previously, 7 workshops were held on alternate days. These were conducted by experts in their fields, brought in by our society. Minimal fees were charged for enrolment in these workshops, mostly to cover the cost of buying the necessary equipment for the “hands – on” sessions. All the workshops were held at the S16 seminar rooms after 6 pm to facilitate those whose lessons ended late.

RANGOLI
Held on 23rd September, those who attended got to try out 5 different pre – drawn designs, to which they added colour and life using dyed salt.



HENNA
Due to good response, two of these workshops were held – one on 25th September and a second on 30th September. The latter attracted more than 30 participants, more than willing to pay the $2 enrolment fee. Among these, there were many non – Indians who had come, eager to learn this art which has become rather fashionable of late. Both the workshop sessions were conducted by Ramya of Engineering 3.



GARLAND TYING
This session was conducted by Mr. Chandran, who runs his own flower stall in Marsiling. The participants included a few curious and sporting guys who were willing to try out this traditionally female – dominated area of Indian culture.



SARI TYING
Conducted by Mrs Sarada Shankar and Bama of Science 2, this workshop taught a group of 20 giggly and excited NUS girls about 4 different styles to tie on a sari ; normal, gujurati, malayalee(mundu) and madisar. After the workshop, there was also a photo shoot to give the participants a reminder of how pretty they looked in their saris.



DRESSING UP THE INDIAN WAY
The most professional of our workshops, this talk was delivered by Ms Rashida Husain of Reflexion Beauty Centre, with the help of two models to demonstate what the final product should look like.



TALK ON INDIAN CULTURE
Dr K.P. Mohanan was invited to address the audience for this talk, and he gave a simple yet comprehensive summary on how the Indian way of thinking has many parallels with today’s scientific way of thinking. His interesting speech provoked some passionate questions from the crowd.



Even though the movie screening, scheduled for 21st September, was cancelled due to some red tape, the rest of the events went on smoothly. The Society would like to thank all those who contributed in one way or another to the success of the Cultural Fortnight.

Vikneswaran
Science (II)