Annual Navruz celebration

On Friday, March 31, 2024, the annual Navruz celebration, organized by the Navruz Student Association (NSA), was held in the Hamilton Lugar School of Global and International Studies (HLS). The NSA’s president, Alex Li, a CEUS graduate student, welcomed guests and gave them a brief introduction of the holiday and the diverse cultures across Eurasia which celebrate this occasion. He then wished them “Happy Navruz” in multiple languages. The new Dean of HLS, Prof. John Ciorciari, gave an opening address stating that the Navruz celebration reflects the vitality and diversity of the area studies programs at the Department of Central Eurasian Studies, as well as other area studies programs that are affiliated with the Hamilton Lugar School. Prof. Ciorciari then acknowledged the service of Dr. Shahyar Daneshgar, a senior lecturer in the Department of Central Eurasian Studies (CEUS), who will be retiring at the end of this academic year. After welcoming the diverse community, with some of its members coming as far as Indianapolis, Prof. Ciociari’s speech was followed by remarks from Prof. Öner Özçelik, Chair of the CEUS department. Dr. Özçelik’s speech recognized the Navruz celebration as an event that transcends borders, languages, and ethnicities, as well as thanking the retiring CEUS faculty Dr. Daneshgar for his service to CEUS both as a faculty member (for Persian and Azerbaijani) and as a musician. After the opening remarks, a Kurdish poem was read by Claire Jacobson. The main event of the evening was a performance by Dr. Daneshgar and his Bloomington Silk Road Ensemble. Guests of the community enjoyed listening and dancing to this wonderful musical performance. Afterwards, everyone was served Eurasian (and especially Uyghur) cuisine prepared by the newly-opened, local Marco and Polo Restaurant. During the dinner, guests also got up from their seats and danced to a wide array of Central Eurasian songs.