Independence Day '09
This year, SIA went back to the basics to commemmorate Independence Day. We had a simple flag hoisting performed by Prof.Krishna Saraswat , followed by everyone listening to patriotic songs while having light snacks. Simple, yet beautiful.
SIA Masala Magic '09
To celebrate the Spring spirit, SIA organized a fun Sunday brunch amidst the green lawns of Stanford. With Karaoke, dumb-charades and housie, we ensured that everyone got into the fun spring mood. And,as always, we had delicious platters of food from all parts of India to keep those memories of home alive and thriving.
Cricket 'n' Curry '08
The event was held at the Roble Field. The weather was pleasant and perfect for cricket and kite flying. There were a total of four teams that participated and we held two qualifying matches and one final.
Spicy Curry '08
Spicy Curry this year was held at Lake Lagunita. We had perfect weather and perfect spirit. We held housie, dumb-charades, match-finding. We flew kites and some people even went boating in the lake. We had awesome food with Puri, Chole, Chai etc. The turn-out was good and the day was fun!
Republic Day '08
The President's speech was read and commented upon. We had a few songs sung, an Alumni's daughter perform Kathak. We had a fun quiz organized where the audience were asked questions about India and people related to India. The event was a good success. We had samosas and chai and rasgullas for snacks.
Freshers' Welcome '07
Staying true to the SIA tradition, SIA organized the official Freshers' welcome on the first weekend of October. As a part of the event, we had a panel discussion by distinguished SIA alumni and venture capitalists in the Silicon Valley on Opportunities in Silicon Valley & India and avenues to leverage Stanford background". This was followed by some amazing performances by the cultural group Dhwani, song, dance and instrumental performances by freshers and seniors alike climaxing with all continuing graduate students coming together to put forth a great welcome! Also, the new SIA board for year 2007-2008 was formally announced!
Mentoring Program '07
This was another effort pioneered by the SIA board to help the incoming graduate students settle down and have a smooth transition. Around 80 juniors and seniors from all the departments volunteered for this effort. 2-3 freshers were assigned to one senior within their own department and preferably same area of concentration. The objective is to aid them in their academic career at Stanford. High point this was managed entirely by the freshers! Thanks!
New Student Orientation '07
This was a series of interactive sessions between the senior students and incoming freshers. It was another exemplary and pioneering effort by SIA members. Continuing graduate students gathered every Sunday for a month before the beginning of the Fall quarter and helped the freshers in settling down, providing them insight into the day-to-day needs here, getting accustomed to Stanford (link to PDF) as well as answering their questions. Few seniors also volunteered to help the juniors with grocery and other shopping.
Fresher pickups '07
True to the SIA tradition, we organized pickups for the freshers at the airports. This year we had close to 65 pickups scheduled and it went very smoothly, thanks to the efforts of the Core and the members who volunteered for this.
Independence Day '07
The 15th of August 2007 was celebrated with much pomp, enthusiasm and optimism as the Stanford Indian Community came together to celebrate India's 60th anniversary of Independence. This year's celebration witnessed many firsts. The Indian flag was hoisted, and lamps were lit as the patriotic spirit rode high. There were interesting short but thought-provoking screenings about the two diverse and contradicting facets of India the optimistic, dynamic one, the pessimistic, skeptic one. Thank you Core, for making this happen.
Spicy Curry '07
Spicy Curry is not an occasion of culinary interest, as the name may suggest. It is SIA's annual quiz and dumb-charades event. The creative, the cognitive and the ingenious brains (yes, we had teams of three J) came together to crack the questions put together by our astute quiz-masters. And somewhere along the line, artistic abilities came into picture when all that was left to communicate were signs and pictures! All of us had much fun in the sun, with the three teams basking in the glory of victory!
Republic Day '07
Speeches were read and songs were sung, as we celebrated yet another year of the Indian republic. The turnout was spectacular, although the event was organized on very short notice. Chai and samosas were served as well.
Diwali '06
SIA traditionally organizes Diwali every year. This was organized in conjunction with Sanskriti and was a great success. Hosted at the Alumni center and with some great performances by Ragapella, Dhwani and other students, it set the tone for a great evening and an amazingly vibrant year ahead!
Freshers Welcome '06
To make the new students feel at home with each other, SIA organizes the annual freshers welcome. This year saw several enthusiastic performances from both the new and the old. Kudos to the freshers for their effort. And welcome to Stanford!"