Bangladesh Night, an event held annually by the University of Idaho’s Bangladesh Association of Students and Scholars, was held from 5 to roughly 7:30 p.m. on Saturday, Sept. 27. While the event was scheduled to conclude at 7, the program was briefly halted to serve the attendees food.
The event began with the playing of the national anthems of both the United States and Bangladesh. Multiple speeches followed this, including one read by Asma Khanom, a journalism professor at UI, on behalf of computer science professor and BASS advisor Hasan Jamil.
After the speeches concluded, various performers took on a variety of popular Bangladeshi songs and dances. BASS students then served naan, various curries and lassi, a yogurt drink, as well as a variety of other foods to guests.
The food was a notable element, commented on by various people. To eventgoers, Bangladesh Night was a great way to get a delicious, dietary restriction-abiding dinner and to interact with another culture. To members of BASS, the food was a point of pride, a taste of home and a way to spread elements of their culture.
“On [Bangladesh] Night, we all get together…Other days we have program, but not everyone gathers…Everyone comes in this day, we perform, we dance, we sing,” said Prokrity Biswas, a sophomore majoring in biotechnology and plant genomics, who is a member of BASS and performed in various dances.
“We get to eat the Bangladeshi foods that I really love. All of my favorite meals are over there…it’s really special for me. It happens once in a year. I’m really sad it’s over for this year, but I’m hopeful for next year,” Biswas continued.
Once settled with food, eventgoers stuck around to watch another dance, the performance of several more songs and a fashion show featuring Bangladeshi dress. The fashion show was a performance in itself, with music and humorous interactions between each pair of models.
According to Morjina Solaiman, president of BASS, there was an issue with funding due to a lack of support from other clubs. BASS overcame this by volunteering for concessions at games and reaching out to ASUI and the Dean of Students.
Despite these struggles, Bangladesh Night this year catered to an estimated 400 people, with many returning guests.
“[I] just really love these events…I try to go to as many as possible,” said Courtney Bullers, a junior studying anthropology that had attended the event previously. “I really liked the dancing, and then the food is also really good.”
“I’m mostly excited [for] how people react or how people, like, enjoy the program,” said Solaiman in an interview with The Argonaut the day before the event. “So basically, that is one concern, that people come to our event and then enjoy the food and the performance and have a great time. We hope to see them next year, and also [that] they can know a little bit about our country.”
Cal Torres can be reached at [email protected]