The more than 200 audience members, comprised of Bryn Mawr undergraduates, friends, and relatives of the performers, were treated to a night filled with dances, spoken word performances in English and Hindi, singing, a fashion show, and even a brief stand-up act. Food was also provided after the show in Rhoads Dining Hall.
Culture shows are an ever-present element of Bryn Mawr student life, with affinity groups such as the Asian-American Students Association, Sisterhood, Mujeres, and SAS each hosting an event during the academic year.
This year’s SAS show was centered around the theme “Dekh Magar Pyar Se,” which translates to “Look, but with love.”
“While we were choosing a date for our culture show, we just happened to choose Valentine’s day weekend so we thought that this theme would go well with the whole theme of love,” SAS Treasurer, Zermeen Sahar ’18 remarked.
SAS Secretary Virushi Shah ’18 remembers seeing the phrase on truck art as a child.
“At the back of the trucks, there’ll always be a quote…such as ‘Dekh Magar Pyar Se’ or ‘Honk Okay Please.’ As a kid, when I looked at it for the first time, when I saw this [Dekh Magar Pyar Se] I just felt that you should be considerate of others.”
Among the students to attend the show was Audrey Lin ’18.
“I really love the energy that everyone brings,” Lin raved. “What’s really special about the culture show is that these acts aren’t all clubs. It just goes to show how much dedication, how much pride, how beautiful their culture is—they do this outside of their academics.”
As SAS executive board member Nayanthi Peiris ’18 explained: “Bryn Mawr is unique as a liberal arts institution that has a lot of international students. A lot of students come from different parts of the world and these shows give the rest of the student body insight into what the cultures of other people are like. It’s also a way of introducing and showcasing what you’re proud of and where you come from to everybody else in the community.”
Inquiries about SAS can be directed to Alexandra Sanyal at asanyal@brynmawr.edu