For the second year running, the Hindu Students’ Council (HSC) at U of M hosted the Janmashtami celebration on Sept. 14 in University Centre.
Ashish Charaya, HSC vice-president, explained how the festival forms part of Hindu students’ identity and this gathering gave an opportunity for students to observe the celebration despite the distance from home.
“We wanted to create an environment where students could celebrate an important part of their culture and traditions while also giving people who may not be familiar with the festival an opportunity to learn more about it and participate in the celebrations.”
The evening began with worship and offerings before moving into performances featuring music and dance. Food was served later in the evening, with the event concluding with dancing to devotional music.
Diya Patel, a member of the event’s promotion team, described the ambiance of the event as “vibrant, warm, and very community-oriented,” and said she saw students from different backgrounds fully participating.
“There was a strong sense of celebration throughout the evening,” Patel said. “We wanted the event to feel like an experience that students could genuinely be part of rather than something they simply watched.”
Some sacred elements, such as aarti, formed an integral part of the celebration and gave participants a chance to take part in the traditional side of the festival.
The event received a smaller turnout than HSC typically expected, which Charaya attributed partly to the weather and another festival taking place on the same day.
“However, the students who did attend were extremely supportive and seemed to thoroughly enjoy the event,” he said.
Patel also said students responded positively to the celebration.
“It was especially rewarding to hear from students who were not familiar with Janmashtami beforehand but enjoyed being able to learn about and participate in the celebration,” she said.
Charaya added that “events like this give students a chance to meet people who share similar cultural backgrounds and traditions and, hopefully, build a community that can feel a little bit like family while they are here.”
“We are always happy to have new students get involved, whether they want to attend events, volunteer or simply become part of the community,” Charaya said.
The Hindu Students’ Council has more events and initiatives planned throughout the year. Students can follow @hsc_uofm on Instagram for updates and access the council’s monitored Telegram community through the link in their bio.
