MILAAP is the officially recognized Indian Students Organization here at the University of Wyoming, whose goal is to be the source of connection for people of different ethnicities and backgrounds.
“The main objective of our RSO is to introduce and promote the culture and heritage of India in the UW community,” Ragha Mohan, MILAAP secretary, said. “We want to share who we are and our backgrounds with the people here and show them a small glimpse of India. We also provide a small sense of home to the large number of Indian students and faculty who are here at the University of Wyoming.”
According to the UW MILAAP page, the motto of their organization is “to bridge the cultural gap amongst people of different origins by learning, understanding and celebrating diversity and education.”
Every year they organize various events to observe festivals and holidays and share the culture with the community. Their biggest event that takes place in the year is Diwali Night, where they observe the holy festival of lights. They put on a cultural show followed by a dinner and dance party. This gives them a chance to celebrate their most beloved holiday.
“Diwali is one of the biggest festivals of India and it is nice that we get the chance to celebrate it here and allow both Indians and non-Indians to come together and simply enjoy the great show, try delicious spicy food and dance to some Bollywood tunes,” said Mohan.
Another big event which they organize in the spring semester is Holi, which is the festival of colors.
Holi is a spring festival celebrated in the countries India and Nepal as well as in countries with large Indian subcontinent populations. This is also known as the Festivals of Colors because it includes the tradition of smearing various colored powders on one another.
“During the festivals, all communities get together to play music, drink bhang and throw colors and water at each other,” Santosh Madhyanam, a member of the RSO, said. “People come out on the streets to play and kids have little water guns and it really brings the people together.”
This year it will be taking place on Saturday, April 28 at the long-term parking lot on 30th St. The event will be held from 12-3 p.m. and is free to anyone who wishes to join. Herbal colors will be provided to play with and Bollywood songs will be played as entertainment, dancing is encouraged.
“I think the main purpose of us bringing this celebration to Laramie is to show the people how exactly it is that we celebrate our event and allow them to participate in the fun,” Mohan said. “Nothing compares to the joy of throwing colors at your friends and running around fighting with our hands full of colored powder.”
MILAAP is open to anyone who wishes to learn more about or join in on sharing the culture of India at the University of Wyoming.
