Rangila, the South Asian Society’s annual festival, has become no less than a phenomenon since its inception eight years ago. The show, which hits Gaston this Friday and Saturday, sold out both nights in a mere fifteen minutes, breaking not only last year’s one show record of 30 minutes, but that of virtually any other event on campus. Sorry GPB.
The allure of the event is unquestionable: Georgetown’s South Asian community performing seamlessly with a diverse cast and presenting a blend of elegant dancing, hybrid music, and dazzling colors. It’s like homegrown Panjabi MC with fly dancing centered around active cultural exchange. And while Rangila (which translates as “colorful”) is certainly pleasing to the senses, it also packs a profound energy and sense of solidarity that resonates with both SAS initiates, for whom Rangila is a critical bonding experience and sign of growth and continuity, as well as the Georgetown community at large, which benefits from the event both on stage and in the electrified crowd.
This effect expresses nicely the overall objectives of SAS, which serves as an essential base for Georgetown’s diverse South Asian community. In addition to Rangila, SAS hosts a fall dinner, promotes community service, and gives back to the subcontinent, while promoting awareness of South Asian culture and society within the larger Georgetown community. The event encapsulates these objectives by both presenting South Asian society in the form of high and pop art, and including non-South Asians in the 150 member cast. Indeed, Nisha Desai (SFS ‘06) and Nilam Trivedi (COL ‘05), the event’s directors note that this year “there are lots more non-South-Asians, with some in every dance.” Moreover, proceeds from Rangila are, for the second year, going directly towards the construction of schools throughout the subcontinent.
Of course, this type of “cultural presentation” raises questions as to how authentic a show comprised of non-South Asians, often performing pieces drenched in cross-overs, from hip-hop to Bollywood and pop can be. Indeed, beyond the traditional staples of the forceful bhangra, sultry duets, stunning traditional garb, and nimbly twirled batons, one can expect the heavy influence of western cultural and musical forms. The bill is rounded out by the campus groups Harmony and Groove Theory, and a runway-style South Asian fashion show. This type of blending begs the question, what culture is Rangila presenting, and to what end?
The organizers and performers of Rangila see this heterogeneity as a sign of deeper authenticity as the show expresses both the realities of globalization, international flows of culture and ideas, and the complexities of diasporic identity. “When you go to India you watch Bollywood and traditional dances, but people wear Gap and Polo-it’s a blend of eastern and western. We’d be lying to show just ‘South Asian’ styles,” said Four-year Rangila veteran Rick Desai (MSB ‘04.) Natasha Jacob (COL ‘04) emphasized that “you really can’t have ‘just traditional’ anymore, it’s Indian American.” Every piece in Rangila is bound together by a South Asian influence from beats to dance style, but also articulates the slippery nature of “authentic” cultural identity.
Furthermore, Rangila constitutes an event unto itself: the expression of Asian-American Georgetown students, for whom identity and culture is informed by more than their South Asian heritage. And in its own, microcosmic authenticity, Rangila has become one of the few growing “traditions” to which we can point; a reality attested to by not only the volume of tickets and annual buzz surrounding the event, but also the what organizers Desai and Trivedi suggest is an undeniable “melting pot” effect, in which cross-cultural dialogues are formed both in the preparation for and performance of the show.
Regardless of one’s take on the cultural conundrums raised by Rangila, this weekend’s performances will prove to be alternately moving and jubilant, frenetic and subtle. The MCs will bombastically assert the “phenomenal” aspects of the event, but with or without their prodding, Rangila’s unique energy will be palpable and engaging.
Rangila will be in Gaston Hall Fri. & Sat. night. Doors are at 7, show at 8.
