culture

Indian improvised music still fresh at more than 2,000 years old

Rebecca Thiele — Mon, 01 Apr 2013 15:33:00 +0000

Kalamazoo College student Kiran Vangipuram started drumming on the mridangam after he saw an Indian Carnatic concert when he was little. What drew that 8-year-old to a roughly 2,000 year old art form? The crazy fast beats of course.

Learn about the French-speaking world at the Francophone Film Fest

Rebecca Thiele — Mon, 18 Mar 2013 23:33:07 +0000

Try to count how many foreign films you’ve seen in your life. If you’re like most Americans, you’ve probably only watched a handful.

Spring Festival celebrates Indian culture with food, Bollywood music

Rebecca Thiele — Tue, 26 Feb 2013 16:53:23 +0000

Imagine a giant snowball fight, only instead of snow, everyone has a handful of a different colored powder. That’s what the Hindu holiday of Holi is like in India. Here in Michigan, the India Association of Kalamazoo will hold its Spring Festival on Saturday to celebrate Holi and other Indian festivals that mark the coming of spring.

Jewish holiday Tu B'shvat, 'New Year for the Trees'

Rebecca Thiele — Thu, 24 Jan 2013 21:27:09 +0000

Holidays change. Halloween wasn’t always about getting candy and the first Thanksgiving probably didn’t involve watching football. Saturday is Tu B’shvat, or ‘New Year for the Trees,’a minor Jewish holiday that’s changed at least three times.

Kwanzaa: An intimate family holiday celebrating African-American culture

Amanda Wright — Mon, 24 Dec 2012 20:34:00 +0000

December 26th marks the first day of Kwanzaa. The week-long holiday celebrates family, community and African-American culture. WMUK's Amanda Wright talked with Sid Ellis, the director of the Black Arts and Cultural Center in Kalamazoo, to find out more about the Kwanzaa and dispel a few myths.