Nakhraas

This past weekend, I went to Chicago to see my college raas team, Northeastern Nakhraas, compete at the Raas All Stars national championships. The championships consists of the top 9 teams in the collegiate raas circuit, with each team having to place at a few official competitions in order to secure enough points to get a bid. This was the first year that Nakhraas has attended the championships, and the team’s journey has been nothing short of incredible.

In 2015, the team was officially founded. In our first year, we could only perform at local exhibitions and shows. The second year, we managed to obtain a slot in a talent show at Yale, our first out-of-state performance. The third year, we got into our first non-bid competition in Pittsburgh. I will cherish those memories for a lifetime, as it would be my last time competing with the team on stage before I graduated. The fourth year, we got into multiple non-bid competitions, and started making a name for ourselves within the community. The fifth year we got into our first set of bid competitions. At last, we were true competitors. Covid put the circuit out of commission for our sixth year, but our seventh year, we got our first trophy at a bid competition. Not third, not second, but first. and in our final bid competition of the season. I was in Morocco at the time, but I woke up in the middle of the night to celebrate with the team over Facetime. To this day, that moment still feels like a dream. And now, in our eighth year as a team, we placed at three out of four bid competitions, and claimed the title of the 5th best team in the circuit for the 2022-2023 season.

I am inspired by the team’s constant growth. Each year it seems the team has only gotten better and better despite any adversity. I officially stopped being on the team in 2018, and it humbles me to see that the team members that have come after my time have continued to push the team to newer heights.

When some of the alumni and I met the team in Chicago this year, just after the show, the first thing they said to us was “We did it for you guys. We owe it to the alumni that got us here.” I had no words. I truly felt like a proud dad in that moment, in all of the stereotypical ways. Tears streaming down my face, hugging each and every single person I could find, trying my best to form coherent sentences, feeling like the team had just won the championships even though the actual winning team was celebrating in the background. I didn’t expect the team members to value our contributions so highly where they felt like part of the reason why they were dancing was for us. I feel extremely lucky to be a part of such a group of people.

Probably the people that I have the most heartfelt appreciation for are my fellow alumni, both for those that joined me on this trip and also those that could not. When I started my raas journey back as a freshman, I had no idea that I would meet such a wonderfully diverse group of dancers that would end up becoming like family to me. Each step on my dance journey was taken alongside these people, and some steps probably couldn’t have been taken had it not been for all of the hard work, effort, and motivation that these alumni demonstrated. Each dancer on the team contributed to the success that the team is seeing today, with each of their stories adding life to the history of the team and shaping the direction for the future generations. Even today, I feel like I can reach out to any of the alumni for advice, support, or simply a friendly conversation, and that feels like an irreplaceable series of bonds to me.

I’ve attempted to summarize in words just how much this team and the people mean to me, but I don’t think I could ever do a good enough job at capturing my thoughts and feelings about Nakhraas. It truly is an honor to have experienced being a part of this journey. I’m proud of each and every single person that has contributed to the team’s success, and I’m excited to see what the future holds!

– Bhavin