An Indian Act

March 18th, 2015 was the first year of Global Gala at my school. In this event 20 countries were being represented by school students, parents and teachers. They together showcased the world food, dances, music, and culture. It was an epitome of diversity!

A few of my friends and I were presenting an Indian dance “Radha on the Dance Floor” which depicts the dance by Radha who was a lover of an Indian God named Lord Krishna. We had several meets to learn the dance and practiced our moves with the help of our parents. Finally, we were ready for the big day!

When it was time to leave for the concert, I had dressed up in an Indian dress Lehenga Choli and put on lots of Indian jewelry like bangles, jhumka, maang tikka,  and bindi. I hopped into the car and we drove off. At my school, I tried a couple of different foods and then met my group in front of the stage. After a hour and 30 minutes of acts, including tap dancing, karate and a mime, it was time for my group’s act. Karate was my favorite and tap dancing was my next.

As we got onto the stage, I could tell everyone else in my group was as nervous as me. Throughout the song, I could hear my bangles clicking and clapping for me! I remembered to smile, and heard cheering and whistling from the audience. When the song finished, we bowed down and as we walked off the stage, a parent presented us all $5 gift card to spend at the Red Mango treat shop.

After the performance, I remembered that I had only sampled food from a few countries and missed many others as we had been called to our group early. When I returned, I found the food was all wrapped up. Of course, I was disappointed. At least there’s always next year and I can plan better! I ran to the car, my Lehenga Chunni trailing behind me. Maybe I’ll do an act next year too!

This Global Gala taught me a lot about diversity and how it can benefit each of us and eventually benefit our community. It lets us know people different than us and encourages us to learn more about their culture. It also gives us a chance to experience different things than we are used to. It creates curiosity. The curiosity may lead to something that will benefit the person. I think there should be something in every school that exposes students to diversity, if it’s some sort of Global Gala or not.

Writing Girl