Naidu was also featured in another act, titled "Jugalbandhi'-A Competition." In this act, she and Ambika Patni '02 highlighted the differences between the Bharata Natyam and Odissi styles of traditional dance.

"We wanted it to be education and entertaining," Naidu says, "because with such a diverse audience, you're never sure what people are going to get."

Ghungroo also featured several group dances often involving upwards of 14 people.

The "Bee'ar Naach" depicted the circumstances of a rural wedding in Bangladesh, illustrating preparation at the bride's home, quarreling between the families of the bride and groom, and the wedding itself.

Traditional elements were mixed with other modern acts like "Yeh Ladka Hai Deewana." This group dance, which involved 16 performers, was described by show organizers as depicting "the relationship between girls and guys...through playful dancing, over-acting and quirky Westernization of culture that is a trademark of Hindi films today."

And in a version of "Bhangra," a folk dance originally from the state of Punjab in Northern India, the choreographers and dancers integrated traditional and modern moves.

In addition to dance performances, cast members presented several songs, some solo and others in large groups.

Neha Mahajan '02 sang a vocal solo called "Chatur Bhuja Joolata Shama Hindore," a semi-classical song in the Hindustani tradition. And 13 cast members performed "Jaago Mohan Preetam," a group song with keyboard, guitar and drum.

Interspersed between other acts, cast members came out in front of the curtain to read poems in many of the languages spoken in South Asia, including Tamil, Punjabi, Urdu, Telegu, Bengali, Sanskrit, Gujarati, Malayalam, Sinhalese and English.

A Worthy Effort

But all good things come with time, something the 110 people involved in the show have sacrificed a good deal of.

Set designers, choreographers, directors and others involved with the production of the show began planning well before winter break, organizers say.

Naidu says rehearsals for Ghungroo cast members began immediately after intersession.

A week before the show, she says, rehearsal hours increased and performers practiced into the wee hours of the morning, some nights not leaving Radcliffe Yard until 2 a.m.

Naidu says one of the things that made participating in Ghungroo a great experience for her is the dedication of everyone involved.

"What makes it so exciting is that people are willing to put in that amount of time, that they take extraordinary measures to make it to practice," she says.