Glittery gold and sparkling jewels cover Vasavi Ailinani’s pink and teal sari as she gracefully dances to make an offering to the Goddess of Knowledge.

Ailinani moves skillfully while making shapes with her hands all around her body, as she performs the Deepam Dance. The dance is a classical Indian dance performed traditionally before an aspiring ceremony of gratitude to the Lord.

The Indian Student Association sponsored India Night:Unity in Diversity Sunday night at the Student Center to celebrate 50 years of independence from Britain.

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The event brought more then 200 people to observe the many different cultures and ways of life across India’s 30 states.

Sarojini D’Cruz, a graduate student in bio-chemistry from Bombay, India, and treasurer of the Indian Student Association, said the diversity in India is unlike any other nation.

If you go from the north to the south and then east to west, you wouldn’t be able to communicate effectively, she said. The way of life, religion, clothes and food is so very different. Even though we are so different, we can still exist as one country.

The evening featured four dances from different parts of the culture, as well as a fashion show and mock wedding.

Tu Cheez Badi Hai Mast Mast, the second dance performed, is popular in the film industry.

Rajasthani Folk dance, the third dance, is from the northern state of Rajasthan and is about a girl who is awaiting the return of her loved one.

Mehndi Lagake Rakhna, the last dance, is a group song and dance typically performed before a wedding while the bride prepares herself.

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After setting the stage for the mock wedding, the performing group showed some of the typical events performed during a Hindu wedding.

A skit was performed to show the difference between Indian students who were raised in America from those who were raised in India.

The fashion show displayed many different styles of clothes across India. Because of the diversity of the country, each state in the country displayed its own unique characteristics.

Most of the women’s clothing was covered with shimmering gold that reflected the overhead lights. Women wore payal, trinkets that jingle while the women move.

Men traditionally dress in Kurta and pajama, which are made of cotton and not as colorful as the women’s clothing. Men also wear turbans. Occasionally the men wear solwar kamzee, more formal Indian attire.

Jayant Mazundar, a graduate student in chemistry from Delhi, India, and president of the Indian Student Association, said it was challenging to display all the states in the country.

Our culture is so vast, he said. It’s so difficult to represent all of our culture, we just presented a little bit of it.

India achieved independence from Britain Aug. 15, 1947, through peaceful means under the leadership of Mahatma Gandhi and others who believed in peace. India was under British rule for two centuries.

The struggle is known as The Freedom Struggle. The Indians believed in using peaceful means to achieve what they wanted.

The struggle was completely non-violent, D’Cruz said. The ideas was that we as Indians will not cooperate with you until we get our freedom.

John Jackson, vice chancellor of Academic Affairs and provost, was the honored guest of the evening and said that independence is important to the students at SIUC.

The Indian student and faculty is one of the largest international groups on campus, he said. It is important to make them feel at home in Carbondale.

This is a heterogeneous campus that recognize people from all over the world. The international program is one of the most important features of the community.