The Indian Students’ Association is hosting Parichay On Red Carpet, a night of dancing, singing, food, and awards.

The Indian Students’ Association (ISA) is a non-profit organization run by Indian students at the University of Saskatchewan. They aim to foster a sense of community and belonging among their members. The association hosts many events throughout the year, including cultural, academic, and career networking events. Diya Khamar, the President of the ISA, says the student association strives to “bridge the gap between the whole community and students and [to] make them feel at home.”

Khamar is a fourth-year Cellular, Physiological and Pharmacological Sciences student. She is the first female president of the ISA and joined the student association last year as the Director of Marketing. There are nine executive positions with ISA, including the Director of Communications, currently held by Shakthi Mahendran who is a second-year health studies major.

Last summer, the ISA went on a picnic as a group, which Mahendran says is one of her favourite memories with the student association. “We went on a picnic, all packed on a school bus. I was at the back of the bus and [we] had music blasting on the speakers. We were dancing and having fun on our way. There [were] lots of games and good food. It was just really nice!”

The ISA holds monthly meetings for its executives and hosts events for members and all students to attend. One of the biggest and most anticipated events the ISA hosts is Parichay. 

Khamar says that Parichay is an opportunity “to bring the culture together [through] performances, awards, student showcases, and raffles.” USask students and alumni who are interested in showcasing their talents, such as dancing, singing, or stand-up comedy, are invited to register to perform here or by messaging ISA on Instagram (@isa.uofs). Khamar encourages students to volunteer as performers or even help set up the event to “get a free ticket to the event, a certificate of appreciation and exclusive surprises and perks.”

Mahendran adds that the event is beneficial not only as a celebratory, performance-filled night but also as a great way to connect with members of USask and the greater Saskatoon community who hold shared interests. She says, “I would also describe the event as a really good networking opportunity, because up until now, throughout the year [it has been] more student events. I don’t think we’ve had any faculty or staff at USask or outside of the community coming in. It’s all just students and alumni, usually, and that’s awesome. It’s really fun. However, the point of us as a group is to bring together the entire Indian community, especially here at USask. So, we use this as a way to bridge more faculty and researchers who are present at USask with the students, and this is a good way for them to connect and just celebrate Indian culture.”

Khamar agrees with Mahendran, saying “We also try to bring sponsors for the event, just so that we can showcase the Indian community as a whole in Saskatoon.” 

No event is complete without great food. Khamar says Parichay will also “have a grand Indian feast, so that would be in the lounge and at the open dance floor after the whole event.”

In addition to the feast and performances, Parichay will also include an awards section. Each year, five different award categories are chosen by ISA’s executive committee. Students are encouraged to self-nominate once the award categories are announced. Khamar says “It’ll be a good blend of fun ones and also more serious ones to showcase the talent in our community.” She mentions that in the past, awards have been given based on research and performances. 

Khamar says this year’s Parichay theme is Filmfare edition, hence the name Parichay On Red Carpet. Mahendran explains that “Filmfare is an Indian Bollywood awards ceremony — [comparable] to the Oscars night.” She goes on to say “I know about [Parichay] because I’ve lived here almost all my life, and I’ve been involved [around the] university throughout my life, so I know about the community here. However, a lot of Indian students who started last year or this year have no clue what it is. That’s why we thought this is our chance to revamp it and bring a new twist to it, because we’ve done the same thing quite a few times. It’s time to change it up a bit!”

Khamar encourages attendees to dress up in their favourite Bollywood or glam traditional attire. She mentions that she is “going all out” with her outfit, getting it straight from India just for this event. 
Parichay is going to be held on March 1 in Quance Theatre in the Education Building. Early bird tickets are $20. Mahendran says, “There’s a limited amount of those, so get your tickets when you can.” To purchase a ticket visit the following link: https://forms.gle/qHmnME2RvcT3WPjF6