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Bangladesh shines on SCSU
 Media Credit: Christine Johnson/Editor SCSU international student Keya Uddin dances to “Aiyo na, Aiyo na,” a Bangladeshi folk song, during Bangladesh Night Saturday in the Atwood Ballroom.
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 Media Credit: Christine Johnson/Editor SCSU Bangladeshi student Joya Sultan sings “Bondhu Teendin” during Bangladesh Night Saturday in the Atwood Ballroom. The cultural event marks the first of many for 2002. Other cultural nights planned for spring semester at SCSU include Chinese New Year, Pakistan Night and Nepal Night. The events are planned by various student organizations.
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At a time when xenophobia is at its highest, the international student community is still committed to bridging the gap between international and American students.
This semester’s cultural events kicked off Sunday with the ninth annual Bangladesh Night.
Darlene Grega, director of international studies, who recently returned from a week of lobbying in Washington, D.C., for international education, emphasized the importance of international education and the continuation of events like Bangladesh night.
“It’s nights like these that show why we need international education,” Grega said. “International education is the foundation is the backbone for getting rid of xenophobia, prejudice and racism and for making our world a safe place to live.”
The emcees for the evening, Zareen Alam and Monty Ikram, kept the audience of around 400 on their toes, as they guided the audience through an assortment of examples of Bangladeshi culture.
“It’s hard to describe a country that is half the size of Minnesota with a population of over half the population of the United States in just three hours, but we will do our best,” Ikram said.
And that they did. The show kicked off with a documentary about Bangladesh, led through several welcome and traditional dances, as well as musical and solo performances. To represent the 80 percent agricultural country, the students performed a flute duet used for herding cattle.
Later on, the whole audience got a chance to get involved, as they played the traditional game called “pass the parcel.” For the game, a large present with multiple layers of paper was passed from person to person. Grega kicked off the game by taking off the first layer with a message to send the parcel to the most handsome man in the audience. The parcel was passed from person to person, with messages ranging from seeking out the most beautiful woman, to finding the happiest person, to finding the most bored looking person.
Finally, the parcel was passed to the saddest appearing audience member, who got to open the package and became the winner of a set of dishes.
With a drama about marriage in the village of Bangladesh, the Bangladesh Student Association gave the audience a glimpse of social issues ranging from how a family may prepare for the marriage of their daughter in the village to how illiteracy may affect people in the rural areas of Bangladesh.
In the drama, a village family reacted to a letter from a man who was to marry their daughter. Since they are unable to read, the postman reads the letter, informing the family that the daughter’s new husband will arrive to pick her up the following day. Finally, the man comes to claim his new bride, the family gives the new couple their blessing and happily bids them farewell.
Bangladesh night drew to a close with a colorful presentation of traditional and Western influenced clothing.
And those who weren’t quite ready to go home at the end of the show had the option of staying for an unofficial concert. For those, interested in South Asian or East Asian culture, who were either unable to attend Bangladesh Night or yearn to learn more, this is only the beginning. In the weeks to come, Pakistan Night, Nepal Night, and Chinese New Year are yet to come.
Sharon K. Sobotta can be reached at: [email protected]
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