Collegiate Times

The Nepalese Ambassador paid a visit to Virginia Tech on Saturday, as part of Nepal Nite, an event that highlighted the country’s cultural diversity.

Shanker Sharma came to the university to express his interest in the Nepalese Student Association, the group that hosted the event.

Video: Virginia Tech Nepalese students perform for ambassadors

“The fact that the ambassador came shows he has good confidence and wants to inspire students,” said Devi Gnawali, the association’s advisor and business management professor.

Nepal Nite showcased the country’s various customs, 103 ethnic groups, trends and 92 spoken languages through dances and musical performances.

“Nepal has a lot of diversity and culture, even though it’s a really small country,” said Nisha Gnawali, a junior biology major. “The types of dances we covered are from different cultures within Nepal.”

Individuals inside and outside the association performed, as there is a small Nepali community in Blacksburg, whose members helped with the show, Gnawali said.

The entertainment began with a rendition of The Star-Spangled Banner, followed by the Nepalese national anthem, as well as other song and dance performances, which the association self-choreographed.

“We don’t really have a choreographer for our group so it’s just everybody’s ideas put together,” Gnawali said. “So it’s a lot of time and effort in putting together the dance practice.”

In addition, there was a fashion show featuring authentic attire that represents the current trends in Nepal.

“We really wanted to have traditional cloths in our performance, but those are really hard to get. You can’t get those here in the U.S.,” Gnawali said. “You have to request them from Nepal.”

Nepal Nite ended with an unexpected, impromptu performance of Michael Jackson’s “Beat It,” which seemed to be a hit among attendees.

“Of the entire show, I liked the Michael Jackson performance at the end,” said Vikram Rajasekaran, a senior computer science major. “It was kind of random.”

However, planning and preparing for the event was not an easy feat, as the budget was a major issue.

“Getting the budget request was really the biggest and most stressful thing for the show,” Gnawali said. 

“Since we are a small organization, we don’t really have that much money in our account so it’s really nice to know that the school helps us out.”

Despite difficulty, the association focused on spreading the Nepalese culture.

“We were just hoping that by doing this show, it (would) expose the culture at little bit more here at Tech,” Gnawali said. 

“I really want people to be more aware and learn about the different cultures.”

A version of this article appeared in the Feb 21 issue of the Collegiate Times.