Maryland Masti 17

The Most Anticipated Raas Competition

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MEDIA

Thank you for joining us at Raas Vegas!

TEAM PICTURES!

UF GatoRaas

RU Raga

WiscoRaas

Texas Raas

Michigan Wolveraas

VT Dhamaal

UNC TarHeel Raas

Steel City Raas

ABOUT US

THE SHOW

What is Maryland Masti

Maryland Masti is an annual intercollegiate Garba/Raas competition held by the students at the University of Maryland, College Park. Our goals include spreading awareness of the traditional folk dance cultures of the West Indian State of Gujarat, providing an outlet for current students to express their passion for such dance, entertaining the guests at our show, and having a great weekend -- staff, teams, and audience alike!

What is Garba?

Garba is a popular folk dance native to the state of Gujarat, located in Western India. Traditionally, it is performed during a 9 day festival called Navratri (Nav = 9, Ratri = nights). Navratri is predominately a celebration in honor of Goddess Amba, as well as other popular Hindu gods and goddesses. It occurs in mid to late October, depending on the lunar calendar, and is divided into three sets of three days to worship different reincarnations of the Goddess Amba. The first three days are for Durga, the destroyer of all vices and impurities. The next three days are for Lakshmi, the bestower of wealth. The last three days are for Saraswati, the imparter of knowledge and wisdom. During Garba, a portrait of the goddess with a lit flame in front of her is placed in the center of the circle. People then dance around the deity clapping rhythmically to the accompanying music. This traditional form has transformed into the modern form of Garba that we see today

PHILANTHROPY

Who they are?

Established in 1995 to provide education to children in Mumbai slums, Pratham (which means “first” in Sanskrit) is now one of the largest and most successful non-governmental education organizations in India. Working in collaboration with governments, communities, parents, teachers and volunteers, we focus on innovative interventions to address gaps in the education system. The clarity of our mission—“every child in school and learning well”—drives our focus to make an impact on the lives of India’s children and extends from our leadership to our volunteers in the field. Pratham USA is a volunteer-driven organization with 14 chapters across the United States that raise awareness and mobilize financial resources for our work on the ground.

What they do?

Develop Innovative Programs – Pratham uses outcome-driven programs that reconfigure teaching methodologies and challenge ineffective learning mechanisms. Our strategies focus on results, accountability and continuous learning and improvement. Build Scalable Models – Pratham’s low-cost learning models are rigorously tested and evaluated so they can be easily replicated on a larger scale to provide quality education to every child. Advocate Change – Pratham’s willingness to take risks, adapt to changing circumstances and look beyond our programs gives us the leverage to create broader change. We amplify our impact by freely sharing information with other nonprofits and using our findings to advocate for large-scale policy changes. Inspire Action – We engage parents, teachers and government to make learning a community effort. Local volunteers are vetted, trained and monitored to help implement learning interventions at the grassroots level using Pratham’s high-quality teaching materials.

Who they are?

With operations in 20 of India’s 29 states, Pratham reaches millions of children and youth each year from Kashmir to Tamil Nadu. Our methods have also spread beyond India’s borders through ASER, which has inspired parallel citizen-led assessments of children’s learning in fourteen countries.

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