They write to the beat of a different drummer, the tabla to bespecific. Hear the sounds of the native Indian instrument at TASA'ssixth annual Arts Collective, where they will celebrate the releaseof the third volume of SALAAM, the South Asian Literary and ArtsMagazine.
SALAAM differs from other Tufts literary magazines such asOutbreath, and practically every other magazine in the greaterBoston area, in that it talks specifically about the south Asianexperience. The magazine prides itself on being the only southAsian intercollegiate magazine in Boston.
Organizers of the Arts Collective have gathered a broad array ofentertainment acts for the event. Attendees can enjoy theindigenous music of the tabla, an Indian percussion instrumentwhich will be played by Tufts students. TASA is also providingcomplimentary Indian food to further underline the importance ofthe south Asian experience.
In addition to the tabla performance, the Tufts band TheResidence is scheduled to perform after magician Salil Bahandari,teacher of the ExCollege course "An Introduction to Magic:Performance and Technique," and other solo musicians. The mostanticipated portion of the evening, however, will be the open micsegment in which anyone who submitted works to SALAAM, even if theywere not accepted, can read their pieces to their peers.
TASA has also arranged for the visual pieces to be displayed inAlumnae Lounge. Most of the photographs are of scenes from southernAsian countries, which will only add to the unique nature of theArts Collective.
According to SALAAM's editor-in-chief senior Neha Surana,"SALAAM was created as a showcase for south Asian talent that istoo often underexposed. Today it has grown to a broaderaudience."
Submissions to SALAAM varied from literary compositions such asprose, poetry, and short stories to visual works includingphotographs. The selected submissions, as chosen by the magazine'seditorial board, ended up amounting to fifty pages of content.
"We hoped to put together a compilation ... that captures thecreativity of Tufts and other Boston students," SALAAM associateeditor Tara Dhawan said.
At the start of the academic year, Surana, in her third andfinal year working for SALAAM, had set personal goals of publishingthe magazine on a semi-annual basis and of making the magazine moreintercollegiate. Despite their lofty goals, however, the magazinewas able to publish just one issue and only two of the acceptedsubmissions were from non-Tufts students.
Although she was unable to meet her goals, Surana is more thanpleased with the product. "This year, in terms of funding andquality of work, [SALAAM] is the best its ever been," she said.
Issues of SALAAM will also be available online athttp://ase.tufts.edu/salaam.
