Asian Council members volunteered at the Indian Student Association event on Thursday evening. (Sidney Hollingsworth/The Daily Campus)

Students filled the Hughes-Trigg Ballrooms Thursday evening for Indian Student Association’s (ISA) first meeting of the semester. Over 100 students attended the mixer.

When students walked in, they were handed a piece of paper with something written on it.

Vice President Vidhi Makanji explained that “the pieces of paper were a get to know you game.”

Each student had to find his or her “match” in the room. For example, if one student’s piece of paper had Brad Pitt on it and another student had Angelina Jolie written, the students had to find each other in the crowd. Once everyone had found his or her “match,” Makanji started asking questions on a microphone.

“There were diverse questions from ‘what’s your major’ to ‘favorite Bollywood movie,'” Makanji said.

The game was designed for first-year students to mingle with the upperclassmen in ISA.

“The ISA mixer was a great way for upperclassmen, like myself, to see each other again after a long summer,” junior Sania Ahmad said. “It’s also fun to meet all the new freshmen on campus.”

President Ankita Krishnan reiterated Ahmad’s statement.

“The mixer is ISA’s first big event of the year,” Krishnan said. “Everybody, old members and new ones, gathers together for fun, free food and a chance to sign up for committees in ISA.”
Krishnan continued to explain that ISA membership is not limited to the Indian nationality. Anyone interested in learning more about the Indian culture and food is encouraged to join.
Esther Liu, senior communication studies and management science double major, participates in a multitude of multicultural organizations that emphasize Asian cultures.

“ISA’s mixer is an easy and entertaining way to meet new students on campus,” Liu said.

ISA also provided a variety of food for those who attended. Food was catered in from Our Place, a restaurant in Irving, Texas. Students got a chance to taste naan, rice, chana masala (spicy chickpeas) and butter chicken.

After attendees ate their dinner, a makeshift dance floor was created where students danced to popular Bollywood songs. ISA was also selling organization t-shirts for $5 that said, “Keep Calm and Curry On.”

ISA puts on many events throughout the year, but the most anticipated one this semester is Diwali.

Both Makanji and Krishnan are excited for this year’s Diwali show. The show consists of a series of acts from dancing to singing.

“I’ve been a part of the Diwali show since my freshman year and I’m really sad that this is my last,” Makanji said.
Senior Jiz Pallathumadom expressed the same sentiment.

“This year at the Diwali show, I will be choreographing the Diya dance, in which all the freshmen girls participate in,” Pallathumadom explained.

“The dance is performance in the dark with candles, well in this case, lights.”

Pallathumadom will also organize a senior dance for ISA members.

“I really love this mixer because I get to meet some of the new first-years I will be working with this semester,” Pallathumadom said.