The Indian Student Association is dedicated to bringing new cultural experience to SVSU students.

On Saturday, Nov. 22, in preparation for its biggest event of the academic year, the association joined with Valley Nights to host a movie night.

The night welcomed students and families to a showing of the movie “The Hundred-Foot Journey,” the story of an Indian family that moves to France and struggles to be accepted for its culture.

The family starts a restaurant and finds itself competing against the nearby French cuisine restaurant. The movie follows the characters’ development as both cultures find common ground and celebrate each other’s differences.

Association members served traditional homemade Indian snacks and drinks during an intermission.

The night was meant to give attendees a taste of what the Indian Student Association hopes to bring campus during the April 2015 Holi Festival of Colors.

This event is traditionally celebrated by India, Nepal and other South Asia cultures.

Assistant professor of economics Kaustav Misra, faculty adviser for the Indian Student Association, helped make last year’s celebration of the Holi Festival possible.

It included entertainment, Indian food and a “color throw,” a celebration of the colors of and love for the spring season.

Misra expects for the only change to the festival this year is a bigger turnout.

“The students last year set the bar very high for this year, so we want to see 500 people there this year … when we saw 300 last year,” Misra said.

In addition to the Holi Festival, Misra feels the Indian Student Association is creating a bridge between students and the surrounding community.

“(The first goal of the association) is to develop friendships and work together. (The second) is to help students and the community collectively experience different cultures,” he said.

Pre-occupational therapy senior Naziya Ahmad feels “that it is good to be in something that you belong to.”

The Indian Student Association allows Ahmad to help bring people into the community, while also giving her a community of which she can be a part.

“It is bringing a community together for some common ground we have,” Ahmad said.

The association aims to create a diverse population of students by reaching out to anyone from South Asia and other students interested in the cultures.

“The vision is to bring people on campus,” Misra said.