Krewe da Bhan Gras

It’s doubtful there’s a more Louisiana way to celebrate finishing a PhD thesis than by choreographing a dance for a Mardi Gras parade, especially when there is an opportunity to use your now-official expertise to infuse new cultural influences into New Orleans’ vibrant traditions.

Soon to complete her English PhD at LSU in Bollywood and Indian Fiction, Ankita Rathour headed a group of dancers as part of the recently-formed Krewe da Bhan Gras—who debuted New Orleans Carnival’s first traditional Bollywood performance through the streets as part of the Krewe Bohème Parade on February 3.

"I can’t imagine a better culture than New Orleans and a better place than New Orleans to do a Bollywood kind of a fusion dance..." —Ankita Rathour

Krewe da Bhan Gras was formed with a mission to, “represent the South Asian diaspora in New Orleans,” while “entertain[ing] and inspir[ing] parade-goers with vibrant, upbeat, traditional Indian dance.”

The group of dancers and auxiliary support people (among them Rathour’s husband, Jason Christian, who sometimes contributes to Country Roads), took time from their individual busy schedules to rehearse the Bollywood-style dance twice a week in a St. Claude Avenue space leading up to the big night. “It’s been going really fantastic, to be honest,” Rathour gushed a couple of weeks before the parade. “How quickly everybody is just grasping the steps has been very impressive for me.”

And as for finishing her thesis, Rathour agrees that a Bollywood-inspired celebration wrapped into a Mardi Gras parade couldn’t be a more fitting conclusion. “This is like, the best way to graduate,” she laughed. “And I can’t imagine a better culture than New Orleans and a better place than New Orleans to do a Bollywood kind of a fusion dance … I think just, you know, the city is absolutely perfect for like a melting pot of cultures and people just coming and having a good time.” 

The Krewe da Bhan danced as part of the Krewe Bohème Parade on February 3 at 7 pm. kreweboheme.com.