South Asian Heritage Celebration Unravels Old Tropes to Weave New Stories

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Saanvi Padaki grew up in Austin, Texas, in a house overflowing with creativity. She took art lessons from an early age, developing a particular interest in pottery that she retains to this day. Her mother, an artist whose chosen medium was glass, would be mystified whenever her daughter suggested a trip to an art supply store: "Why would you go there? We already have everything!"

So Padaki, now a second-year student at the George Washington University Milken Institute School of Public Health, was surprised-and annoyed-to encounter limiting stereotypes about families like hers as she grew up.

"There's so much more to South Asian culture than being a doctor or working in IT," she said.

Padaki is now helping puncture those false narratives as co-chair of GW's South Asian Heritage Celebration(SAHC), the university's monthlong student-run celebration.

"GW's South Asian Heritage Celebration provides a meaningful reminder of the unique histories, traditions, and identities that make up the rich fabric of South Asian cultures," GW President Ellen M. Granberg said. "This month, the GW community will join together to honor the remarkable accomplishments and contributions of South Asian people and the many ways they have shaped not only our university-through scholarship, public service, the arts and student life-but the country more broadly. I invite you to join me during this month-long celebration in recognizing the critical role the South Asian community-and indeed communities from around the world-play in creating an environment where everyone is welcome and can thrive at GW."

This year's SAHC theme is "Unraveling the Past: Weaving What's Next," an effort to deconstruct harmful tropes-whether they emerge from within the community or outside it-and to highlight the art, storytelling and cultural practices that reflect students' cultures and their lived experiences.

"There are a lot of narratives built into our society that lead to stereotypes and hierarchical structures, or ideas about specific roles you're supposed to fit into," said Padaki's co-chair, senior Maansi Chandra. "I am very proud to be an Indian-American woman and part of the South Asian community. When you see stereotypes about us, it's heartbreaking; it really affects people. You try to just laugh it off, but it's not actually funny. So it's important to bring these things to the surface, to talk about them and to build new stories together as a community."

Both Chandra and Padaki pointed to South Asian art and self-expression as an essential part of their student experience. Both have been involved throughout their college careers in GW's storied national collegiate dance competitions, Raas Chaosand Bhangra Blowout.

"It's super cool that GW has two of the oldest South Asian dance competitions for colleges in the country, and I had no idea until I got here," said Chandra, a public health major minoring in anthropology who, like Padaki, is a member of the GW South Asian Society(SAS). Seeing the way dancers and audiences traveled from all over the country to support these art forms felt, and still feels, "so empowering," she said.

Both Chandra and Padaki grew up as part of lively, close-knit South Asian communities. And both said these groups were limited to single areas of origin-the cities from which their families and family friends had emigrated.

By contrast, the vast South Asian diaspora includes eight countries, each of which may contain hundreds of linguistically and culturally distinct ethnic groups and states. In India alone, for instance, there are 22 officially recognized languagesplus hundreds of regional variants and dialects. In coming to GW, both Chandra and Padaki said they'd encountered a diverse and vibrant South Asian community whose experiences sometimes overlapped with and sometimes diverged from their own in fascinating ways.

"Something that drew me to GW and to D.C. in general is that it's so diverse," Chandra said. "Even just within the South Asian community, I love having conversations where it's like 'Wow, I used to eat that too when I was growing up!' or, 'Oh my gosh, that's new to me, I would love to learn about that.'"

"South Asian culture is not a monolith, and this month is a great way to show that," Padaki said.

The co-chairs said they valued being invited into traditions they hadn't participated in before coming to GW, like iftars, fast-breaking meals held during the month of Ramadan and hosted regularly by the GW Muslim Students Association. Other events felt as familiar as home, like the mock shaadi, or simulated wedding ceremony, held annually by the Pakistani Students Association. (Usually held during SAHC, this year's mock shaadi took place in November.)

"It's one of the most fun events, and essentially exactly what happens at weddings I go to as well," Chandra said. "Different people have different names for things, but the way we come together and celebrate is the same across a lot of South Asian cultures, which is amazing."

Chandra and Padaki both said one of the most valuable aspects of SAHC is that it extends an invitation across and beyond the South Asian community. Members of the many student organizations involved take pride in supporting one another's events, and it's also a pleasure to share the cultures they love with friends and community members from other backgrounds.

"These events aren't just for people in the South Asian community," Chandra said. "I don't want people to think 'Oh, it's their month, I'll stay away.' All these orgs have worked really hard on these events, and everyone is so welcoming-we're all here to teach and learn! It's open to everyone."

#GWtoDo: South Asian Heritage Celebration 2026
Follow @sahcgwuon Instagram to stay updated as details are finalized.

March 3 at 7 p.m. Pakistani Students Association (PSA) Matcha Cart
University Student Center (USC) Columbian Square
800 21st St. NW

March 4 South Asian Society (SAS) presents: Colorism and Anti-Blackness in the South Asian Community
Details TBD; follow @sas_gwuon Instagram for updates

March 4 at 7:30 p.m. Sikh Students Association (SSA) x Hindu Students Association (HSA) Holi & Holla Mohalla Discussion
USC 402

March 16 after sunset Muslim Students Association (MSA) Night in Asia Iftar
Details TBD; follow @gwmsafor updates

March 18 Asian American Students Association (AASA) Film Screening
Details TBD; follow @gwuaasafor updates

March 20 HSA Rang Ki Raat
Details TBD; follow @gwu.hsafor updates

March 20 MSA Eid Prayer
Details TBD; follow @gwmsafor updates

March 21 HSA Holi
Details TBD; follow @gwu.hsafor updates

March 21 at 4 p.m. SAHC Keynote
Jack Morton Auditorium
805 21st St. NW

March 22 AASA South Asian Business Crawl
Details TBD; follow @gwuaasafor updates

March 27 Indian Students Association (ISA) South Indian Cultural Night
Details TBD; follow @isa_gwufor updates