The Hindu religion has three main gods: Brahma, the creator, Vishnu, the preserver and Shiva, the destroyer.
However, unlike other world religions where the immortal being associated with death is seen as evil, Shiva is also the god of dance.
This perspective on death and destruction as part of a celebratory cycle is foreign to most Americans, and that is exactly why the Hindu Community Center (HCC) holds India Fest each year — to educate.
Smita Barole has been part of the team organizing India Fest since its start, 10 years ago. The festival is entirely put on by HCC members who volunteer.
“What’s interesting is this is only our 9th festival but our 10th year doing this,” Barole said. “We skipped one India Fest because it just got too overwhelming for the volunteers.”
On that year, members of the Knoxville community reached out and asked why India Fest had stopped and when it would begin again.
“That’s when we decided no matter what happens we are going to pool whatever resources we do have and bring this,” Barole said. “Because India Fest has gone beyond just our community.”
By noon on Saturday Aug. 22, shuttles were needed to pick up attendees from a nearby elementary school used for overflow parking and taxi them back to the festival. Thousands of people crowded into the HCC this weekend, while ten years ago there were barely even 200.
“When we first started we said ‘Ok even if each person from the community can get just one person from their workplace then we have enough of a crowd to get this going,’” Barole recalled. “I still remember the first meeting was in a living room, and now we have to have them in the temple because we have so many volunteers involved in this project.”
This year’s festival featured numerous food booths, henna tattoo stations, educational posters and a market of traditional Indian clothing, jewelry and other items. Several performances occurred throughout the afternoon including cooking demonstrations and traditional dancing.
“Indian cooking tends to be an enigma,” Barole laughed. “People don’t know everything that goes in there and people think it’s so complex but its not. We have community people who just break it down for you so you can make this at home.”
Adam Weatherell, junior in political science and Africana studies, originally attended the festival for extra credit in a class, but after exploring the festival, he recounted being astounded “that India has such a vibrant and literally colorful culture.”
One of the first attractions Weatherell attended was a presentation of themed posters done by the children who belong to the HCC.
“We just became enthralled with these posters that detailed all of the different gods, which is usually a really cool indicator of what a culture does and doesn’t value,” Weatherell said.
After tasting some of the food, Weatherell attended the dance performance, which was a sampling of dances performed on holidays or at ceremonies throughout India.
“The Indian style of dancing is so inherently different, but somehow it matches the music which is this blend of very traditional music to dance beats with a very fun bass,” Weatherell said. “All of that classic Indian style of dancing melds into this beat and it’s so much fun to watch.”
One of the honored guests at the dance performance was Knoxville Mayor Madeline Rogero. Before the celebration began, Rogero and two other city officials were invited on stage to inaugurate the event.
At the end of the performance, the officials got to join in on the fun. “At the end they had a flash mob and Madeline Rogero and I got down on it,” Weatherell said.
The presence of the mayor and such a large community interest encouraged the HCC to continue planning more ambitious plans for India Fest.
“We are growing and there’s so much about our culture that is not known,” Barole said. “We want people to meet the real us, and not just watch it on BBC or CNN and make assumptions of what India is like.”
Weatherell summed up his experience saying, “I couldn’t imagine living in Knoxville and not going back.”
Dancers in traditional clothing performed for the India Fest on Aug. 22.
