Weeks of planning--and ten years of history--came to fruition this past weekend as the South Asian Association (SAA) celebrated the 10th anniversary of Ghungroo, an annual show of South Asian and American culture.

Dancing, singing, poetry reading and humorous skits blended the traditional South Asian experience with the modern South Asian-American experience in four sold-out shows at the Agassiz Theatre from Thursday to Saturday night.

SAA co-president Uttam K. Tambar '00 describes Ghungroo as a show that bridges gaps between club members as well as between members of the larger College community.

"It's the one single event [of the SAA] that brings members together," he says. "Ghungroo is priceless in terms of what it means to our organization. It's the main way to represent our community. The audience can get to know us through the show and the acts."

"It's amazing how many people come and take something away from it," he adds.

Cast member Treeny Ahmed '01 says Ghungroo aims to integrate traditional and modern aspects of South Asian culture.

"A lot of acts did have that fusion," she says. "It was an eye-opener to show [people] what traditional acts are like, and that's why Ghungroo is so different from other cultural shows on campus."

Ten Years of Change

While Gunghroo--which gets its name from the bells worn around the dancers' ankles--has been fusing the modern and the traditional for the last 10 years, Tambar says this year's show presented the most diverse selection of acts in Ghungroo history.