You certainly can't tell it's nearing midnight, judging from the crowd gathering in the University Center. More than 100 students are milling around the food court. Subway veggie sandwiches are all over the scattered tables and floating through the crowd. Snippets of excited conversation buzz around.
It's the night before the big event—Bhangra in the Burgh—and all the planners and staff are on hand for the final run-through. Arpon Ray, a junior Tepper major, is the vice president of the Mayur South Asian Student Alliance (MayurSASA), the university's cultural organization responsible for the upcoming competition. He's also the event's public relations and marketing director. He's been putting out fires all day, from last-minute ticket sales to dinner details. His exhausted cell phone died hours ago and now sits recharging on a strip against the wall alongside its worn-out companions.
Ray can faintly hear a few people trying to call the meeting to order. They have no success. Finally, Ray's voice rings out above the others. "Hey guys! Let's go! We only have eight hours 'til this event starts!"
The "competition" the next night will be between eight teams of Bhangra dancers from universities across the country. Bhangra, a folk dance from the Punjab region of India and Pakistan, is a rapidly growing phenomenon that merges modern hip-hop rhythms with colorful, traditional moves. MayurSASA launched Bhangra in the Burgh only a year ago, attracting a surprising sellout of 2,300 students and residents. The group also raised more than $5,000 for charity in what was the largest student-run event at Carnegie Mellon.
Meeting in the University Center tonight are the three Bhangra in the Burgh co-chairs, the 13 MayurSASA officers, and the 80 staffers needed to run the show. Sophomore electrical and computing engineering major Aneesh Devi, chair of operation, manages the meeting as he ticks off his minute-by-minute event schedule with the throng—check, check, check. Next, Tepper junior Samir Saleem, chair of team relations, gets his turn. The evening wears on as final details are ironed out, and the volunteers eventually disperse into the cold night. All except the co-chairs and board members, that is. Ray follows his friends into the nearby conference room as his evening begins. No sleep tonight. Good thing. The second annual Bhangra in the Burgh turns out to be another sellout.
—Melissa Silmore (TPR'85)
