-Hira Ismail, BMC ’13
I went to two Muslim Student Association Dinners, one sponsored by Bryn Mawr and Haverford’s MSA at Founders Hall, and one sponsored by Drexel University’s MSA. The first dinner was in celebration of Eid-ul-Fitr, the Muslim holiday in celebration of the completion of the Holy Month of Ramadan, a month of fasting. We had spoken-word poetry and dinner. The second dinner was a welcome-back dinner for Drexel’s MSA, and there was a speaker who discussed MSA’s goals for the year. At both, South Asian food was served, so I snapped a photo of each. The pictures of the snake charmer display and the festival tents were taken at a Hari Krishna Festival in Philadelphia. I was participating in College Day on the Parkway, and after exploring the museum, I spotted this festival, and went to check it out. There were various booths set up. Some had information about the Geeta, and summarized some of the core beliefs and stories about Krishna. Some had information about reincarnation and the theories behind that. Some stalls were set up where food, clothing, and books on yoga/meditation were being sold. There was a religious chant playing the entire time on loudspeakers. It was overall a very colorful festival that I luckily stumbled upon.