Lord James W. Dooley made a surprise appearance Friday night in the Cox Hall Ballroom, as he joined in on the traditional high-energy Indian bhangra dance during Emory’s celebration of Diwali.

The Hindu Students Association (HSA) held its annual Diwali event to celebrate the traditional Hindu holiday also known as the Festival of Lights.

Friday’s festivities began with a Hindu puja, or prayer ceremony, where participants prayed for prosperity for the coming year.

The colored candles that lit the path from the beginning of the quad to the entrance of Cannon Chapel created a warm atmosphere and echoes of musical chants filled the air.

Students dressed in brightly-colored Indian attire swayed as the priests led prayer chants.

“This year’s puja was very different than the ones I was used to,” College freshman Priya Patel said. “It felt much more modern than the traditional puja, and I believe that HSA was smart in making this transition.”

After the puja ended, students migrated to the Cox Hall Ballroom for food and festivities.

The ballroom, which was draped with colorful banners and ribbons, smelled of warm Indian food and sounds of bell-adorned anklets rang throughout the room.

Candles and peacock feathers adorned the tables and pictures on the walls depicted Lord Rama — who is the reincarnation of the Vishnu, one of Hinduism’s primary deities — and his victory over evil.

While many participants attended the celebration expecting only food and performances, HSA provided more than the essentials.

College freshman Rahul Paul said he was “pleasantly surprised to see that HSA had not only arranged for a variety of performances, but also set up booths where students could get Henna tattoos, learn about the history of Diwali or sing along to popular Bollywood songs.”

A cultural show followed Dooley’s performance of a bhangra dance and a buffet-style dinner.

The show included performances by several student groups, including Sitara, Karma and Azaadi.

“Diwali was a great way to kick off the year as a performer since, for many of us, this was our first performance of the year,” said Shabnum Gulati, a College freshman and Sitara dancer. “The environment was extremely upbeat and welcoming, and I personally could not imagine a better place to have my first performance at Emory.”

Kailash Duraiswami, president of HSA, said that HSA holds Diwali each year in order to educate the student body about Hindu religion and culture.

This year’s celebration had an added focus on sustainability at Emory.

“Our biggest success was bringing awareness of sustainability to our event in the decorations and booths,” Duraiswami said.

— Contact Neel Madhukar.