Thousands flocked to the Greater Richmond Convention Center this weekend as the 30th Annual Festival of India took place. People of all races, nationalities, creeds and ages came to experience the lively entertainment, the helpful vendors, the cultural food and more.
The purpose of the Festival of India is to bring Indian culture, including the food, dance, music, arts and crafts, and other traditions to Richmond. But out of all the elements that keep visitors coming back year after year, the presence of women in Indian culture seems to have been the most dominating characteristic.
Indian and Indian-American women were adorned in the garments and makeup of their mother
country. Whether they were volunteering at a vending or food both, or if they were just there with family and friends to enjoy the festivities, they were representing their culture to the fullest.
Many of the women wore a colorful and embroidered garment known as a sari. A sari can range from four to nine meters in length and is usually draped over the body insome fashion. Tradition calls for the sari to be hand-woven, but as a handmade sari is very expensive these days, it isn’t seldom that women prefer a machine-made sari.
Other women at the festival wore shalwar kameez, a traditional pants and shirt set worn by both men and women. Shalwar are loose pajama-like trousers, and a kameez is a long tunic.
Many of the women and young girls also wore traditional Indian makeup, including the bindi, a religious forehead decoration.
Although much attention was drawn to the women’s attire, one also couldn’t help but notice the large female presence in the performances. There were multiple female singers, dancers, musicians and even masters of ceremony. The groups that competed in the youth Bollywood and Bhangra dance competitions mainly featured younger girls.
Also attracting young girls was the number of “goodies”, including crafts, henna, face-painting, fortune telling and the ever-popular cotton candy.
Outside of wearing cultural garments and participating in traditions,
women of Indian heritage also took on major roles at the festival. For this year’s festival, those women included Vice-Chairperson Mohini Nallapaneni, food booth organizer Sunita Talegoankar, head of decorations Anu Chemudupati, and children activities coordinator Geetha Ravindra.
The festival may have been an attempt to shed a light on Indian culture in Richmond, but during this year’s festival girls clearly ran the Indian world.