This past Saturday, the International Indian Student Union (IISU) at Binghamton University produced their largest event — “Tamasha: The Legend of the Love Brigade” — which consisted of dance, song and comedy routines.
Tamasha is an annual show that takes place in Watters Theater in the Anderson Center at the end of every fall semester. It encompasses many different dances from South Asia including Bhangra, classical, belly dancing, Garba, Bollywood and modern dance.
BU students hoping to preserve their Indian heritage founded IISU in 1986. The word “International” was included to represent all South Asian students who share a common Indian origin.
Treesa Arikunnel, president of IISU, translated Tamasha as “comedy.” The comedic aspect came into play throughout the show through a running skit created by members of the organization.
Introduced by the Indian and American National Anthems, the freshman dance opened the show. Shanty Shaji, a freshman member of IISU, said she truly appreciated the show as a dancer and as a spectator.
“All the practices definitely paid off. Our choreographer, Erin Thomas, was so patient with us, even when the practices ran seven to eight hours long,” Shaji said. “The show was funny, original and the other dances were really amazing.”
According to Shaji, practices for her dance started as early as October.
“The practice schedule wasn’t really consistent, but we put a LOT of time into it,” she said.
IISU organizes many events in association with the Binghamton community and other cultural groups on campus.
The group expressed that these events educate others about the rich beauty of South Asia by exposing them to the traditional music, dance, art and poetry of the region.
Arikunnel takes great pride in IISU and the people that surround her.
“Our show has always been a huge success because of our active and dedicated members, the Binghamton University community, and also the students from many other schools who come to watch Tamasha and support us!” she said.