Signature Nights are back after a long hold of COVID-19.

This Saturday Student Association of India (SAI) and the Bangladesh Student Organization (BSO), two of the international RSOs at Minnesota State University, Mankato will be joining together for the first signature night of the academic year 2021-22. 

Indo-Bangla Night is the first collaboration night in a long time among the student bodies of two different countries. India and Bangladesh happen to be neighboring countries and long-term allies to each since 1971 and the year 2021 marked 50 years of friendship for both nations. Each of the countries currently has 77 International students enrolled in undergraduate and graduate programs at MSU.

The night will be marked as a celebration of friendship and common culture among two countries which will be held in the Centennial Student Union Ballroom starting at  5 p.m.

Afnan Husain the current President for SAI shared her views about the event, “We have always had a considerable number of international students from India and Bangladesh but there were few opportunities to portray our culture and history with the people here at MSU.”

Showcasing the different international cultures the event aims to celebrate and share with others.

“This year we decided to portray our culture and history to the people of MSU and the Mankato community through this signature night. We come from a very culturally enriched and vibrant part of the world, so we decided it to be a wedding theme. Most of the performances will be done by Indian and Bangladeshi students,” Husain said.

There will also be traditional food from each country as well as decor displayed throughout the ballroom.

“Starting from the food to decoration we have planned to keep everything exactly how it is done in our countries. We are trying to reach out to diverse group of students, especially American students to come join us during the event and experience our culture.”

Students can purchase tickets for $10 online and a confirmation message will be sent in order to get in.

Mohammed Mehedi Hasan is the President of the Bangladesh Student Organization shared his expectation for the event, “We have sold more than 60% of the tickets and expect it to be full house during the event day. We are planning on hosting approximately 300 people at the CSU Ballroom. Now that the mask mandate has been lifted on campus, we are expecting to see a good crowd,” said Hasan.

Currently, the event has 65 international volunteers from various RSOs like NeStCom, Mavlankans, and Korean Student Association who are actively helping put this event together.

“March 26 marks the Independence Day of Bangladesh and we are excited to celebrate the day with our friends here at MSU,” Hasan added.

Tickets for the event can also be found at one of the tables at the CSU MavAve day until Friday for anyone who is interested in purchasing the ticket.

Header Photo: Pictured from left to right are four of the organizers for the Indo-Bangla Night, Sumaya Khan, Mohammed Mehedi Hasan, Afnan Husain and Shreyam Ranjan. (Ajay Kasaudham/The Reporter)

Write to Radit Mahmud at Radit.Mahmud@mnsu.edu