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Journey to Nepal
 Media Credit: Christine Johnson/Editor Choden Bhutia of Nepal dances Tihar Aayo, a dance celebrating the festival of lights, Saturday during Nepal Night in the Atwood Ballroom. The event, titled �A Journey,� was organized by the Nepalese Students Association. It attracted over 500 people who joined and watched the performances and ate the Nepalese meal. At right, dancers lay down flowers during the Nepalese Classical Dance.
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 Media Credit: Christine Johnson/Editor Shirish Dali of Nepal sings �Sambodhan� in remembrance of the deceased royal family of Nepal.
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 Media Credit: Christine Johnson/Editor Aparna Lamsal performs during the dance celebrating the festival of lights.
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 Media Credit: Christine Johnson/Editor
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"Nepal night is like a pow-wow for Nepalese people," senior Karma Gurung said.
As one of the 150 Nepalese students at SCSU, Gurung gathered in Atwood ballroom Saturday night with Nepalese students and people from throughout the Midwest, Nebraska, Moorhead, the Twin Cities and even Alabama and a crowd of SCSU students and St. Cloud community members. The place was packed with a combined total of over 500 people.
For students like Gurung, Nepal Night is not just a chance to unite with others from their home country and share culture with other American and international students. It's also a time to learn and reflect.
"When you have to show people your culture, you have to learn more about yourself," Gurung said.
If teaching the audience about multiple aspects of life in Nepal, Nepalese culture and life of Nepalese people in the United States was the goal of the evening, the students definitely succeeded.
The show began almost right on time at 5:30 with welcomes and proceeded to lead the audience through a slide presentation and tribute about and to Nepal's late royal family, moment of silence on their behalf and a song dedicated to the family. Silence overtook the entire room for the length of the tribute.
After that, the Nepalese students kept the audience well-entertained with music right up until dinner time, through a presentation of a classical dance, the Tihar Aayo (dance of festival of lights), the Tamang Selo (group dance of people in Himalayas) and two vocal and instrumental songs.
When dinner time rolled around, whether vegetarian or meat lover, everyone could find something to eat. The menu included everything from vegetarian potato and cauliflower curry to authentic Nepalese potato salad to chicken curry and spicy turkey with a coconut and fruit salad for dessert.
After dinner, the audience had a chance to deepen their knowledge about Buddhist philosophy with the play "The Life of Gautama Buddha" by Siddhartha Rai. The play gave the story of a prince who was sheltered from the realities of the cycle of life and the harsh injustices affected humanity. One day the prince decides to see the world, as it is, and sees an old hungry man, a sick man and a dead man. He is shocked and disturbed by what he sees and is inspired to separate himself from the luxuries and wealth of his family. Finally he is enlightened, as he finds the true meaning of life and becomes Buddha.
Later on, the audience had a chance to see Nepalese weapon drills, during which students marched and did acrobatic tricks ranging from reenacting fights to flips.
The theme for the evening, "A Journey," not only was built into the programs with many of the items presented, it was also represented on stage with a set of hands at the top of a pyramid, holding together traditional Nepalese society with the images of fast-paced life in the west (perhaps showing the collision of east and west).
Rashmi Bhattarai, junior, the artist behind the decoration that filled the front stage and one of the vocalists who sang several of the songs throughout the evening, is pleased to have the opportunity to have Nepal Night each year.
"We're really thankful that our school lets us have the ballroom each year," Bhattarai said with a smile. "This night brings everyone (in the Nepali community) together at least once a year and it lets all the students know more about us and our culture."
The fact that the intent of the annual event is to show Nepali culture, doesn't limit performers to those of Nepali background.
Sarah Reed, senior, from Virginia, Minn., was the flutist for two of the musical selections. Although Reed was not 100 percent confident she'd be able to handle the task, when she was first invited to participate by some of her Nepali friends, it didn't take her long to change her mind.
"Once we practiced a few times and had a lot of fun, I knew I'd do it," Reed said.
Although this was Reed's first time attending Nepal night, she said it was a worthwhile experience for her and other Americans.
"It's important for Americans to recognize that we're not the center of the world," she said. "If people can recognize that and learn to respect culture, I think a lot of bad, violent things can be prevented."
The Nepali Student Association showed the conflicting eastern and western values with a fusion performance. In a dance, a Nepali man who dances happily to traditional Nepali music until an individual dressed in Western clothing takes over the stage to the beats of American rap. They go back and forth, until finally they unite and dance to Nepali music.
After being in the United States for nearly eight years and experiencing both high school and college away from his homeland, Gurung, now 24 years old, has grown to appreciate the balance of culture and the challenges of journeying out of comfort zones.
"Going somewhere to study or travel is a quest, like what Buddha did in a way," he said. "Sometimes home is too comfortable and if you never go away, there's no opportunity to face challenges, be on your own and grow."
Sharon K. Sobotta can be reached at: [email protected]
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