Ohio State’s South Asian acappella group, OSU Dhadkan, poses in their ending formation at the bid competition “Awaazein” at the University of Texas Dallas March 8, 2024. Credit: Courtesy of Abin Thomas
For the first time in Ohio State’s history, South Asian a cappella will take center stage as teams from across the country battle it out in a series of notes.
The Buckeye Laya — a national intercollegiate South Asian a cappella competition — will take place Saturday at the Lincoln Theatre, located at 769 E. Long St. The brand-new competition will feature eight collegiate a cappella groups from across the nation, plus the Ohio State a cappella and dance groups OSU Dhadkan and OSU Inaayat, according to Buckeye Laya co-founder and co-director Yadnya Sonawane.
Though the two Ohio State groups will not directly compete, they will deliver exhibition performances while the judges deliberate, Sonawane said.
Teams entered into the contest include Duke Deewana from Duke University, Purdue Taal from Purdue University, Dhunki A Cappella from The University of Texas at Dallas, Illini Awaaz from University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Sargam Acapella from the University of Pittsburgh, UNC Samaa from University of North Carolina, UMD Anokha from the University of Maryland and BU Suno from Boston University.
According to the Association of South-Asian A Cappella website, teams will be judged using the ASA’s own rubric, with categories in musical composition, vocal execution, visual execution and South Asian representation.
Miljan Krunic, a judge for Buckeye Laya, said South Asian a cappella combines numerous cultural and musical sounds, ranging from South Asian to Western.
“The traditional music that’s incorporated is not just Western, but also the South Asian music and the cultural part of it as using very traditional songs — or just generally traditional songs and languages of the area — to represent it as what is kind of a fusion between these two different genres,” Krunic said.
Anjana Viddam, Ohio State alum and founder of OSU Dhadkan, said she will be a judge at Saturday’s event. While judging, Viddam said it’s crucial to recognize every member’s importance on the team, despite the size of their role.
“I think, for me, the main importance is that each person has an important role to play,” Viddam said. “So, even though you might have a soloist, and then everyone else is doing background music, each person is super vital to the team.”
Viddam said her criteria for having a great performance compared to an average performance rely on a team’s ability to work together and interact with the audience.
“At the end of the day, singing is a way for people and students to express themselves, whether South Asian or Western,” Viddam said. “And so, [I focus on], are the people on stage having just as much fun as the audience? Are they engaged in their own set? And I would say, is every member of the team being utilized effectively?”
Sonawane also said Buckeye Laya will be a bid competition for the ASA. This means the winners of Saturday’s event will receive points and rankings that can help them qualify for the “All American Awaaz” national competition, which will be held in San Francisco April 5.
“This season, there’s nine bid comps from ASA, which is the Association of South-Asian A Capella,” Sonawane said. “And basically, a bid comp is every time a group wins first, second or third, they get points, and it’s on a point system. And then whoever at the end of the season has the most points gets to go to nationals, and that’s the top eight teams.”
As the competition continues to expand, hopefully operating on an annual basis, Sonawane said she wants Buckeye Laya will play a larger role in giving back to the community.
“As Buckeye Laya becomes bigger and grows bigger, we also hope to be able to donate some of those funds to smaller musical groups around Columbus that are needing that kind of help, and showing off that culture and identity that we try to bring into Columbus,” Sonawane said.
In addition, Sonawane said she hopes having the competition in Columbus will give a greater platform to this kind of performance art within the city at large.
“South Asian a cappella has never been outwardly expressed at Ohio State,” Sonawane said. “So, I hope that by having competition, having something people can go to and watch, will give an opportunity for not only South Asians, but also people across OSU to understand not only South Asian a cappella, but what a cappella is and how these people come together and express their music, and their identity and themselves.”
Krunic said he is excited for people to see the participating groups’ artistry throughout the competition.
“I think this is going to be a very fun night with a lot of diverse music, with a lot of diverse styles and people from places across the country,” Krunic said. “I think the multicultural level of this competition is going to be very fun to watch.”
For more information on the competition, including how to purchase tickets, visit Buckeye Laya’s Instagram page.
