Girls were dressed in ghagras, lehngas and traditional sarees and the boys wore lungis, dhotis and even bejewelled turbans, like those worn by kings in ancient times. Jeans and T-shirts were not to be seen anywhere in the sprawling grounds.
What could have been easily mistaken for a fancy dress ball was actually ‘Ethnic Day’ celebrations at the Andhra Loyola College.
It was mandatory for all students participating in the event to come in traditional outfits. The event began as a rally from the main building of the college to the Fr. Devaiah Auditorium. The Bihari students of the college did a traditional dance with drums. A Tibetan student enthralled all with her traditional dress and feathered head gear. Traditional trinkets made out of beads and sea shells worn by the girls made them the centre of attraction. Students from the North Eastern States stole the show with their traditional ware.
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The main message of the celebration was to respect the traditions and recognise the culture of the others. No body should look down at the tradition or the culture of others said coordinator of the programme G.Sahaya Baskaran. College principal G.A Peter Kishore said diversity made the world more beautiful.
Each ethnic group had something special and members from other groups should recognise and respect the ethnic nuances, he said.
In a display of ethnic dresses the students came one after another on to the stage and explained briefly about the dress they were wearing. The students also performed traditional dances including a folk dance of Andhra Pradesh.
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The ethnic dances and display was finished of with ethic food. The students prepared and put on display various traditional dishes. The food was also sold to those interested in tasting them. There were 58 stalls where ethic food of different types was exhibited and sold.