Juniors Shweta Joshi and Sumi Garg lead a line of classical dancers during this year’s Diwali celebration, which was voted the best student-run performance by Student Life readers in 2010.

Every November, Wash. U. students are treated to a night of dance, music and theater at Diwali, presented by Ashoka, the South Asian student association. It took about 200 students practicing for four hours a day for weeks in the middle of midterm season to produce last November’s Diwali. Watching the show, it was clear how much care was put into every aspect of the performance. The fashion show was appropriately goofy. Sur Awaaz, Wash. U.’s co-ed Hindi a cappella group, deserves props for seamlessly mixing Jay Sean’s “Down” into “Jashn-e-Bahara.” That being said, this year’s Raas dance absolutely stole the show, with its mixture of fluid dance moves and highly skilled (and shiny) dandiya twirling.

Senior Monis Khan’s skit, “Love in the Time of Partition,” was the show’s connective tissue. Following a series of party-seeking events, the main characters find themselves travelling back in time to 1947, the year of partition between India and Pakistan.

“It’s surprising how popular Diwali was because of how foreign the subject matter of the show is, but it’s a testament to the quality of the performance and how much people invested themselves in creating it,” Khan said.

We have to agree. Until next fall, Diwali.