Bollywood mania exploded on Villa Maria College on Saturday night as the ninth annual "Muqabala" brought the crowd to a feverish pitch with Indian songs and dances.
"Muqabala is an intercollegiate dance and song competition where many schools compete and show off their various talents and the best school wins," said Sameera Sreepada, a junior business major and president of the Indian Student Association.
The word "Muqabala" means "fight" in Hindi. This prestigious competition has attracted schools from around New York State to duke it out on the dance floors and with microphones. Schools competing in the event included SUNY Albany, Cornell University, CUNY Sophie Davis, Syracuse University and UB.
Muqabala is a showcase of a united Indian culture with its zesty dances, swooning songs and transformation from the traditional to the modern. The Indian culture is made up of many subcultures. These differences can come about by geographic diversity, language barriers and varying traditions.
However, the unifying trait that brings Indian people together is India's music and dance.
"It is a great chance to bring the Indian people, the subcontinent of people together for a great show," said Firdous Kamal, senior electrical engineer. "For us it is just a good time."
The night was jam-packed with lively performances, ranging from a display of an award-winning stroll, famous songs from popular Hindi movie soundtracks, grand dance exhibitions and even an original rap on being Indian. Although the show was comprised of heterogeneous elements, they all had a unique Indian flavor.
Many items had a fusion of Indian and Western ingredients. For example, when Dead Presidents n Crew from CUNY Sophie Davis played the acoustic version of Oasis' "Wonderwall," Oasis' percussion was replaced with the Indian percussion drum, the "tabla." Then, UB's Balle Balle Bollywood Beauties danced to many Hindi and hip-hop remixes, including Beyonce Knowles' "Baby Boy," which was augmented with an Indian twist.
The songs sung by the competitors were generally met with warmth from the largely Indian crowd. When popular titles or soundtracks from movies came on, the crowd would jump up to clap and sing.
Dance performances in the "Muqabala" have similar constituents like the mass dances, which dominate Indian movies from Bollywood (Indian Hollywood). Dance groups consisted of many performers dancing in elaborate formations and creating human pyramids.
"It was something people worked hard for. People worked months, days and countless hours to create a beautiful finished dance," said Sreepada.
However, the night was marred by the dismal reception of the many skits and jokes that the MCs provided. Jeers rang throughout the auditorium as skits such as "Super Desi" came on.
Overall, "Muqabala" was well received, perhaps explaining its continued existence and its appeal to schools to travel long distances to participate.
"I think we are doing a pretty good job of representing the Indian culture. They have a wide variety of Punjabi, Bhangra and whatnot," said Kawsar Kamal, junior computer engineer.
"We have a total of five schools and it is growing and growing every year," said Sreepada. "We are trying to make it bigger, to attract schools all around the nation and the surrounding states."
