Many Manual students took part in the eighth annual India Day celebration at the Belvedere on Saturday, Sept. 27.

The India Community Foundation of Louisville (ICF) sponsored the event, which was free to the public. Vendors sold traditional clothing, jewelry and food from various parts of India.

Several students performed a wide variety of Indian dance styles.

“I performed a modern style Bollywood dance with three of my friends this year,” said Sanjana Kothari (10, MST). “We worked especially hard to rehearse the dance since we choreographed it by ourselves. We only had weekends to practice, so we stayed up pretty late some nights practicing our dance.”

Additionally, Manual Science Olympiad student volunteers sold beverages throughout the day to raise money for competition.

Other students participated in a themed fashion show which featured different colors of Indian clothing divided into the categories of earth, wind, fire and water.

“The main event that I did this year at India Day was the fashion show, which is traditionally the last event each year,” said Sumanth Chennareddy (11, MST). “This is the first year that I’ve done the fashion show, mainly because a lot of my friends were doing it and wanted me to join too.”

According to Chennareddy, this year’s India Day was especially successful.

“The major difference this year was that a lot more people of all races attended, probably because the event was a lot more publicized,” Chennareddy said. “On the surface, India Day seems like a showcase of Indian culture and traditions, but it is actually much more than that. It promotes learning and cultural interaction between members of the Louisville community as a whole.”