by Daniel Chu ’25
On March 30th, Bellarmine’s South Asian Student Association hosted Nazaara, their trademark event. During the 3 hour long event, they showcased dances inspired by a mix of cultural and Western dances meant to reflect styles like Indian Bollywood dancing and hip-hop. According to SASA representative Akshar Ammu ‘25, “Nazaara” itself translates to a beautiful scene or view, so it was chosen for Nazaara to be a pleasant show captivating the audience.
Not only was the event a colorful celebration of South Asian culture, but it also raised money for the St. Jude Cancer Institute of India. As Ammu explained, the nonprofit where Nazaara proceeds are directed is usually chosen from South Asian countries, because “that’s where poverty is usually a lot higher, statistically speaking,” but “nonprofits that are really trying to do good for society don’t get enough money.” St. Jude in particular was chosen based on online research and connections from parents and friends of SASA members.
Behind the Scenes
In preparation for the event, SASA and performers from Notre Dame San Jose practiced a couple times each week starting as early as 5-6 months before the event. At the same time, they planned out the logistics of the event, such as budgeting for food, decorations, theater tech, timings, and more. SASA was particularly grateful for parent volunteers contributing, because “they played a really big part in making Nazaara what it is.”
They also received help from Mr. Salgaonkar, a math teacher at Bell, and the NDSJ moderator, who communicated with the administration to make Nazaara possible. Ammu admitted that “as students, the administration will listen to us to a certain extent, but if you have a teacher going up to them and explaining what we need and what they need to do, it’s a lot more impactful.” According to him, Nazaara is the biggest cultural event Bellarmine hosts, and it receives support from the community every year, but the process is a lot more streamlined when a teacher is available to help. As a result, he reflected that while Mr. Salgaonkar was helpful, direct communication with the administration would have allowed for tailored requests or facilitated logistics planning.
Big and Small Changes
This year, SASA kept some parts of the event the same as past years; for example, they prepared snacks like samosas for intermission, to help the audience through the show. But more often, they found themselves making big changes. For example, they increased the resources they put into advertising the event. Previously, they had “never really rel[ied] on advertising because of the huge South Asian community,” and always sold out tickets. However, this year, they only sold 90% of tickets, which Ammu attributed to seniors graduating and new freshmen unfamiliar with SASA. Consequently, they worked on advertising through flyers, the daily prayer, TikToks, the WGOTW, and more to help with publicity, and were ultimately able to not only sell out tickets 3 days before the event, but even sell more tickets at the door on the day of the event.
Looking toward the future, Ammu explained that SASA would hope to finalize logistics earlier on. This year, crucial elements like theater tech were procrastinated until the final days before the event, so they would instead want to figure out timings and theater tech multiple weeks in advance. Furthermore, they would practice even more, especially becoming familiar with the choreo.
Ammu ended by saying that he was incredibly proud of Nazaara’s success this year, and hopes to continue improving this crucial celebration of South Asian culture next year too.
[Photo credits: Jonathan Ho ’25]