The Pakistan Students' Association takes keen interest in organizing events around the semester to shed light on Pakistani Culture. Since its' birth in 1999, the Association has held a number of events that received overwhelming response from the student body at Notre Dame. We held several events in Spring 2002 and plan to continue this through out the rest of the coming year.
EVENTS HELD
SPRING 2003
Pakistan Spring Festival
FALL 2002
Student Fair
PSAND was represent at the Notre Dame Student Fair on the 28th of September, by several of its members who were giving free "Bhangra" Dance lessons to anyone interested.
Bhangra Dance synonymous with the Punjabi population of Pakistan has become a worldwide phenomena in recent years due to its fast pace and very lively rhythm. Traditionally Bhangra is danced to the beat of a dhol (traditional drums) during the celebration of harvest, but in recent years it has become common at any social gathering. Pictures from the Student Fair are posted at THE BHANGRA DANCE PHOTO GALLERY
Henna Festival
Henna (or mehndi - in Urdu) is a reddish-orange dyestuff prepared from the dried and ground leaves of the henna tree which grows in the middle east. It also refers to the body art created using this dye. There are no needles involved and the color generally last between a few days to a few weeks depending on how long the dye is allowed to stain and how often its washed.
Once again the Henna Tattooing Festival, held in La Fortune had a huge turnout. With over a 150 people showing up to get tattoos, we eventually had to turn off people due to time constraints. We look forward to doing it again later on in the year though, so keep an eye out for the announcement or join our announcement list by sending an email to us. If you or your friends did get tattoos, check out the pictures and see if you can find yourself in the HENNA PHOTO GALLERY!
SPRING 2002
The first event in spring of 2002 was the Henna Festival which was held on the 20th of April 2002 and was jointly organized with the Student Union Board. It was held in The Dooley Room in the Lafortune Student Center. Pictures of The Henna Festival are posted at THE HENNA FESTIVAL PHOTO GALLERY.
We also had a pot luck dinner with each person cooking up something unique to the party. Apart from the biryanis, the samosas and the chai, the generally includes a fun game such as Taboo, Gestures or cards. Pictures of several different Pot Lucks are posted at THE POT LUCK PHOTO GALLERY.
EVENTS TO BE HELD
Basant Mela: An event which is part of Pakistani culture. The coming of spring is celebrated with a series of kite-flying bouts (where most people wear bright yellow clothes )which last for more than 24 hours. The Association will try to emulate the fervour by arranging a few kite flying sessions in the Fall Semester.
The Henna Festival & Pot Luck: These events will be held again due to their tremendous popularity amongst the students and members alike.
