Dancers in brightly colored saris twirled on stage Sunday to traditional folk music telling stories with their hands during a program at the annual India Fest celebration in Merrillville.
Suvali Giridaran, 14; Raanya Rai, 12; and sisters Diya, 14, and Krisha Patel, 13, were among the performers. The girls performed a “Kathak” dance from northern India, which tells a story through dance.
“You get to express your emotions,” Diya Patel said, adding the dance tries to teach a lesson to the audience. The girls, who have been taking dance classes have performed together for four years.
“It’s a way to connect with our culture,” Giridaran said.
Dr. Vijaikumar Dharla, event chairman, said the Indiana American Cultural Center has been hosting the annual event at the facility since it opened in 2002 and even before in an effort to share the Indian culture and raise understanding of it in Lake County.
“We are trying to showcase the Indian culture and tradition,” Dharla said.
Dancers throughout the day were sharing classical Indian dances unlike the fun dances seen in movies, he said. The cultural program also featured performances of traditional songs.
“Some folk dances today you would not see normally. These are all classical and folk dances,” Dharla said.
Between 1,500 and 2,000 people each year make their way through the cultural center for the event, some celebrating their own heritage and others wishing to learn more about the local Indian community.
“We are a very open community,” he said.
The event, like so many others, was canceled in 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Dharla said the pandemic had lingering effects on this year’s festival as well.
“We used to have more vendors,” Dharla said. COVID-19 has forced some out of business while some still in business wound up canceling since they were unable to find workers. Some vendors — those that sell Indian merchandise — were unable to get their products from India due to shipping constraints. Vendors are a mix of food, merchandise and professional services businesses.
“Running the show this year was a big challenge,” he said.
Usually the festival features 30 to 35 vendors, many who offering food and merchandise. This year there were only three food vendors and a couple with Indian merchandise.
The event this year held special meaning for Dharla and the members of the Indian community. It happened to fall on the 75th anniversary of the Independence Day of India, marking the day in 1947 Jawaharlal Nehru declared India’s independence from Britain and was sworn in as the country’s first prime minister, according to the Times of India.
Dharla said for the first time, the fest kicked off with an official flag raising ceremony.
Khushi Joshi of Crown Point was helping her daughter, Ava, 22 months, with a plate of noodles. The toddler was happily eating one at a time the vegetable noodles Joshi described as a typical Indian-Chinese fusion dish made in most Indian homes.
She said the family included her husband, Akash, come to the temple at the cultural center often. As an immigrant from the western city of Gujarat, near Mumbai, the festival is an important event culturally to the family especially for Ava.
“We live in a country that is not ours technically, she needs to know some of her roots,” Joshi said, adding the event and the center help meet the family’s cultural needs.
Christina and Mark Wilkerson, of Merrillville, who recently moved back to the area after almost two decades away, have been trying to hit all the different ethnic festivals this summer. The couple says the attended Pierogi Fest, Greek Fest, Serb Fest and four different county fairs.
They were enjoying a combo plate of Indian foods after watching the first cultural program lineup.
“I love the food,” Mark Wilkerson said.
Christina Wilkerson said the program was very interesting. The couple said they were enjoying their summertime tour of local culture.
“It’s the best part of living in Northwest Indiana,” he said.
Carrie Napoleon is a freelance reporter for the Post-Tribune.
