Students walked through flowery streamers into the bright Burt Kahn gymnasium to join Quinnipiac University’s South Asian Society in celebrating Diwali, the Hindu festival of lights, on Nov. 12.

Once through the streamers, people were met with the smell of sweet desserts and chicken tikka, colorful ornaments hanging on the walls and loud laughter. In the background, Bollywood music played from Indian singer Sonu Nigam’s best hits, from “Suraj Hua Maddham” to “You are my Soniya.”

Diwali comes from the Sanskrit word “deepavali,” which means “row of clay lamps.” The celebrations focus on the Hindu god Rama’s victory over evil and return from 14 years of exile.

“We basically celebrate with our loved ones,” said Megha Patel, vice president of the SAS and a junior accounting major. “It’s the festival of lights. You celebrate with a bunch of food, decorations (and) performances that we’re going to have later.”

The SAS had been planning Diwali since August in order to get the decorations, food, clothing and arts and crafts ready.

“We’ve had decorations ordered three or four weeks in advance; we had to get the food orders in a couple of weeks ago,” said Kripa Patel, president of SAS and a junior health science studies major. “Then we got here two hours prior to the event to set up. So a lot of planning that goes behind this event, it’s our biggest event of the semester.”

In between bites of gulab jamun, a sweet milk-based dessert, and samosas, students crafted small lamps called diyas, which are typically made out of clay and hold candles, as well as other small crafts.

Diwali was a learning experience for some students such as Jadalise Santiago, a sophomore nursing major, who came to support and bond with her roommate.

“This is the first time, I think we’ve had real Indian food and it was actually a really good experience, like the samosas and stuff,” Santiago said. “And I love the painting. (My roommate) taught us about how special (diyas) are, and how they represent holding candles and are a part of her culture.”

After most of the students finished eating and began to unwind, members of the SAS joined together to perform choreographed dances in traditional clothing.