The annual showcase highlighted South Asian culture through performances from various dance and music groups.
Maya Chatterjee
Contributing Reporter
Luke Huh, Contributing Photographer
The South Asian Society on Saturday performed Roshni, one of Yale’s largest South Asian undergraduate cultural showcases.
Roshni was held in Woolsey Hall and featured performances from Yale’s South Asian dance and music groups, including Rangeela, Jashan Bangra, Kaala, Dhvani and Navarasa. The showcase also presented individual and duet numbers, as well as group acts from each class year. The event’s program noted that the show’s namesake “in several South Asian languages means light and symbolizes positivity and hope.”
Ayshi Sen ’28 — a co-chair of the South Asian Society cultural committee — reflected the sense of positivity and hope in her remarks.
Roshni, she said, “is a huge display of camaraderie. I would say that the energy around the showcase was hard to describe in words. Everyone was so excited, and I know a lot of the dance teams are looking forward to this all year.”
Anjal Jain ’26 echoed Sen’s sentiment. “Overall, the energy is so great in Woolsey. Everyone’s cheering for everyone. All the dance groups are supporting each other.”
Sen explained that the preparation for the event began over summer and required extensive coordination between the society’s board, performance groups and individual performers.
Despite the logistical demands, Sen emphasized that the groups’ collaborative spirit turned the process into an enjoyable endeavor.
Sen also expressed appreciation for the performers, who she said are the heart of Roshni.
“We couldn’t do it without the teams and all of their hard work, and everyone who wants to do individual acts and perform,” she said. “For a lot of them, this is their big fall showcase. For the last two weeks before the show, teams will practice every single day for hours.”
Yale Jashan Bhangra co-captain, Isha Mahadeshwar ’27, described the group’s preparation for Roshni, which included six hours of practice a week. According to Mahadeshwar, Jashan Bangra aims to spread Punjabi culture both on campus and outside of Yale. At Roshni, they performed a high-energy sequence that blended American songs with Bhangra classics.
For this year’s Roshni, the team aimed to add new formations to their dance sequence, “to bring a more modern take to Bhangra,” Mahadeshwar said.
“Something that we really tried to do this year is add a lot more moving 3-D formations into our set,” she said. “They take a lot more time to clean up and synchronize, but I think hopefully it was worth it.”
Mahadeshwar and others described how their performance groups have become meaningful sources of friendship and community throughout their time at Yale.
Jain shared Mahadeshwar’s sentiment about the groups she belongs to, Kaala and Dhvani.
“I remember that when I first came in as a freshman, it was very intimidating for me to find community and spaces where I felt like I belonged. Kaala and Dhvani really provided me with a community that I felt like I could relate to, resonate with, and also make friends through dance and music,” Jain said.
Roshni serves as a means to bring the various groups together to form a collective sense of South Asian culture.
“Coming into Yale and moving away from home, Roshni is the first showcase of seeing South Asian culture being brought to stage,” Sen said.
For her individual act — a medley of Hindi songs — Jain invited Dhvani alum Maanasa Nandigam ’25 to perform with her.
“I asked if she wanted to come and recreate what we had done last year for her senior act. It shows that even beyond Yale, this community still prevails,” Jain said.
Sen emphasized Roshni’s inclusive spirit, noting that the event is meant to extend beyond the South Asian community. She described the demographics of the large crowd, which ranged from first-year counselors supporting their first years to roommates cheering on their friends.
“Even though it is the biggest South Asian cultural showcase, everyone comes regardless of background,” Sen said.
Roshni is one of two South Asian Society-coordinated cultural showcases, the second being Dhamaal, which will take place in the spring.