"Mela 2010: My Life is Desi," which took place in the Levin Ballroom last Saturday, was a multicultural explosion. With performances reflecting the traditions of many South Asian countries and the United States, it would be easy to become overwhelmed. But the South Asian Student Association, which ran and organized the show, did something simple that worked brilliantly: The acts in Mela were tied together by a set of skits that guided the audience through a story, making the event flow instead of providing a variety show-like experience.The skit featured a character named Rajgopal "Raj" Sharma, an international student from South India entering his first year at Brandeis, who was humorously portrayed by Jay Dev '13. His new roommate, American-born Sameer "Sam," played by Sharan Shah '14, had completely forgotten his South Asian roots. The boys' friend Maya (Bharvi Patel '14) fell somewhere between the two extremes. With these three levels of connection to South Asian culture apparent, the audience was able to view and reflect on Mela more fully through the eyes of others.

The show opened with a powerful slideshow created by Wajida Syed '12 that listed the countries of South Asia and supplied vivid National Geographic-quality photographs of each destination and its inhabitants. The slides, which featured Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Maldives, Nepal, Pakistan and Sri Lanka, all elicited cheers from the audience and participants, instantly creating a sense of community between the differing nations.

There was a dance from the first-years in SASA followed later on by the sophomores, juniors and seniors. There were also two performances by a group of South Asian graduate students in which they parodied Bollywood dancing. All six dances were student-choreographed, and they blended skill and comedy to create an entertaining scene into which our hosts, Raj, Sam and Maya, entered. Each dance was traditionally costumed and performed to a medley of South Asian songs, some of which were blended with hip-hop tracks.

The "STUDS Express" short film and dance, a Brandeis Mela staple, was as goofy and endearing as ever. It followed a group of junior and senior boys who were searching for ways to appeal to women and eventually sought advice from the Associate Dean of Student Life Jamele Adams, who told them to dance. The film ended with a dance number choreographed by Sidak Pannu '12 and Usman Hameedi '12.

Chak de Deis, Brandeis' Bhangra group, was fantastic. The dancers creatively used film, prerecorded voices and dance to form a Bollywood-esque routine. In Chak de's story, twin brothers Vijay Setty '12 and Vinay Setty '12 battled over the girl of Vinay's dreams, Natasha Vadera '11. The Setty brothers' movements were so fluid and beautiful, it was no surprise that they were chosen for the lead parts in this dance. The entire group, consisting of 10 dancers, added stage presence and ability to what was one of the best performances of the night.

There were also some impressive performances from Ethan Geringer-Sameth '12 on the tabla with sitar accompaniment and Bharatanatyam, four dancers who performed a classical Indian dance. Ashni Davé '12, Danielle Zipkin '12 and Kayla Dinces '12 also danced a gorgeous piece that combined Western and classical Indian styles. Davé's choreography successfully showed an emotional movement from fear toward a state of happiness.

The night ended with an introduction to SASA's executive board: Divya Kanneganti '11, Akash Vadalia '12, Jasnam Sachathep '12, Sriya Srikrishnan '12, Pannu, Neelanjana Gupta '13 and Deepti Kanneganti '14. The audience erupted with applause for this team of students who had worked so hard to make Mela successful.

Proceeds and donations from the event are being given to Unite for Sight, an organization that supports eye clinics around the world, with special outreach services for people who live in remote locations.