ISA charity dinner hosts great food and diverse guests

In an effort to extend a helping hand to villages in southern India, the Indian Student Association hosted its sold-out Charity Dinner event on Nov. 17, in the Colony Ballroom of the Stamp Student Union, with better organization and new performances.
“The goal of this year’s event isn’t necessarily to do something new, but rather build tradition,” Rahul Vinod, ISA President and junior finance and operations management major said. He attributed the previous ISA president Rahguv Murali with “transforming ISA events, and creating staple events,” such as the Charity Dinner. “We want to improve on the events we have, and iron things out.”
Vinod mentioned disorganization and slight chaos in previous years. “Board members were running around, trying to get food out.”
Catering was provided by Indique Heights in Chevy Chase for the second time in a row, a top 100-rated restaurant in Washingtonian Magazine. Menu selections included naan, basmati rice, and chicken tikka makhani, all served hot with the help of around 20 volunteers.
Tickets were sold for $10 for the first three days, and then planned to go up to $12, but all 330 tickets sold out within two and a half days, according to Joel Pallikal, ISA executive vice president and a junior accounting and operations management major.
“This is personally my favorite event,” Pallikal said. “And it’s definitely our most successful.”
The first charity dinner was held in the Nyumburu Cultural Center, with around 150 attendees. After the dinner, Vinod expressed hopes to hold the event in the Grand Ballroom next semester, which seats roughly 500.
“I’ve been to the Charity Dinner before, and the event has really blown up recently,” said Dan Sugarman, a senior computer science and math major. “They’ve definitely expanded beyond the Nyumburu.”
Freshman business major Sally Huang agreed.
“The crowd here is very diverse. They did a good job of reaching beyond the Indian community,” she said. “It’s also very organized.”
There were raffle tickets sold during the dinner, in order to further increase proceeds. Prizes included gift cards to Jason’s Deli and Potbelly’s.
As for entertainment, there was a Moksha performance of classical Indian dance before the buffet lines opened and a new Bhangra segment later in the evening.
“It took us one and a half months to prepare,” said sophomore neurobiology major Divya Raghavachari, a Moksha dance team member. “We’ve performed at every dinner so far.”
The Bhangra is a vibrantly active folk dance originating from the southern Punjab province of India and Pakistan.
Proceeds benefitted SSSmile Village, an organization that helps house the underprivileged, disabled, orphaned, or elderly in southern India. Specifically, SSSmile Village hopes to house 400 people in 20 homes and build a community for them.
“It’s especially important now because of the upcoming monsoon season and the flooding,” said Nithin Srinagesh, a senior economics major, and ISA vice president of marketing.