PASADENA, Calif.—What happens when a foreign student hits America's shores for the first time? Or, in the case of the student in "Raman Leela," a film written and produced by students at the California Institute of Technology, what happens when he first hits the tarmac at LAX?
The answers, loosely inspired by real-life events and depicted in the film, are comic misadventures, culture shock, and cluelessness, followed by an eventual adaptation to U.S. ways. The film is part of an evening of cultural programming called "Akarshan," and is presented by OASIS (the Organization of Associated Students from the Indian Subcontinent). The film, along with a classic exposition of dance and music, and three supporting events, will take place on Friday, June 6, from 6:00 to 7:30 p.m. in Ramo Auditorium on the Caltech campus. The event is free and open to the public.
For the last several years OASIS has presented a series of cultural programs at Caltech. "Raman Leela," a humorous film written, directed, and produced by Caltech students, is loosely based on the experiences of a naive new Indian grad student. The second main event, "Navarasa: Colors of Life," will be a presentation of Indian music and dance portraying the concept of the nine emotions embedded deep within ancient Indian art and philosophy. The nine emotions are love, valor, wrath, sorrow, wonder, fear, disgust, mirth, and peace.
Three smaller events will round out the program: a one-act play, inspired by previous OASIS events and titled "Recursion," concerning how difficult it is to do a one-act play at Caltech; a light-hearted moderated debate on a number of trivial and not so trivial topics; and a Bollywood-style dance set to a popular Hindi film tune. ("Bollywood" is a take-off on Hollywood, since a number of Indian movies are produced in the city of Bombay.)
The evening's events will be followed by a catered Indian meal for $4 per person.
"Akarshan" is jointly sponsored by several Caltech organizations. Besides OASIS, they include the Graduate Student Council, the Caltech Y, Student Affairs, the Graphic Arts Facilities, and the Associated Students of Caltech (ASCIT).
Written by Deborah Williams-Hedges