To my surprise and delight, MELA was a fantastic performance that was definitely worth the time which could have been spent for paper writing. MELA (which means "fair" in Hindi) is an annual production put on by the South Asian Students Association (SASA). With MELA, SASA Co-president Arnab Mukherjee '06 said, "Hopefully, through all the acts [the audience] got to learn more about South Asian culture." Indeed, the SASA Executive Board certainly did a fantastic job in educating Brandeis students about a culture that many of us know little about.

MELA included many different presentations, ranging from dancing to poetry reading to skits and even a fashion show. Overall, the show was incredibly fun to watch. I especially enjoyed the dances, which were widely anticipated by the audience. Although all of the dances were incredible, my favorite was "Flava and Spice" (Con Sabor y Sazon) jointly produced by SASA and Ahora!.

Blending South Asian and Latin flavor, every aspect of the dance was exciting to watch from the talented dancers to the vibrant costumes. I especially enjoyed the music, which I immediately recognized from their weeks of rehearsal in the Shapiro Campus Center atrium. The finale, entitled "Colorful Rain" (Rangeeli Barish) was a fantastic number as well that included a medley featuring all styles of South Asian dance and music. Lastly, "The Return of Stud Express" was a funny and entertaining performance, in which seven guys in sunglasses showed off their moves. This dance even featured a surprise return of the Macarena, a dance that always receives audience laughs.

I also really enjoyed the two skits in MELA. Both featured a Brandeis alumnus named Amit (Hrishi Poola '04) and his South Asian parents. In the first skit, Amit brought his Jewish girlfriend Rachel home to meet his unsuspecting parents. The skit was very funny, especially when Amit announced his intention to spend Friday night at Rachel's house to celebrate Shabbat dinner. In the second skit, Amit decides that he may want to drop his pre-med career and pursue other interests such as American Studies.

In a phone conversation, Amit's mother concedes to his decision while continuously urging him to find a "stable" career, such as one in medicine. Both of these skits were funny, primarily because of the very talented Hina Bukhari '08, who played Amit's strict and overbearing mother.

There were several informative slideshow presentations in MELA. The show began with a brief description of the seven South Asian countries that SASA represents, including pictures and factual information. Then, in a slideshow video that was a spoof of Jay Leno's "Jaywalking" sketches, SASA members asked Brandeis students questions about South Asia. As expected, Brandeis students, in general, knew very little about South Asia, resulting in a very funny video. This slideshow also included a behind-the-scenes look at MELA, as well as some funny bloopers. It was nice to see how the show was put together and how much work all of the members put into it.

The second slideshow was much more serious. Called "The Time is Now," it gave us a look into the injustices occurring in South Asia and some of the work that is being done to remedy these problems. Created by Kranthi Palreddy '05, the slideshow also told us some of the things we can do to help, such as becoming aware of these issues and combating stereotypes.

Other noteworthy parts of MELA included the fashion show, which featured many Brandeis students in beautiful South Asian apparel. The students strutted their stuff down the runway and it was fun to see so many different South Asian styles. There was also a band that played a blend of Eastern and Western music. The band performed the Beatles' "Eight Days a Week" to show how South Asian music influenced popular music. Lastly, there were two poetry readings that gave us a taste a South Asian literature.

MELA was a very culturally enlightening show, and the audience reaction was incredibly positive overall. MELA ended with an enormous amount of food served in Usdan. Overall, the evening was certainly educational and exciting. It was a fabulous show, one which I am glad I finally took the time to see.