Home Welcome

Calendar What We're Doing

About About the SAA

About the SAA

Welcome to the Harvard South Asian Association Website! Since 1986, our organization has brought the Harvard community closer to South Asia and its Diaspora through academic, political, social, outreach and cultural initiatives. With over 300 members spanning myriad ethnicities, religions, and interests, the South Asian Association (SAA) is one of the largest and most active student groups on campus, putting on over 100 different events each year to celebrate and foster awareness of South Asia. As part of our continued effort to promote understanding of South Asian academic and political issues, we have hosted numerous discussions with esteemed faculty members, public figures, business leaders, artists and authors on campus, while also working to expand the focus of South Asia in the undergraduate curriculum. Every year, we seek to bring members of SAA closer together through a variety of social events, including weekly chai, parties and study breaks, allowing members to create friendships that will last long beyond their time at Harvard. Recognizing the unique role college students can play in development and community-building, SAA members serve communities within the Subcontinent and Diaspora by fundraising, interning with NGOs, and conducting other outreach efforts. Through high quality student-produced performances and dynamic workshops, SAA brings the culture of South Asia to Harvard. In fact, the hallmark of the year for SAA is its annual cultural show called Ghungroo, and celebrated its 24th anniversary in March 2012. Without a doubt, Ghungroo is one of the largest and most widely acclaimed shows at Harvard. With over 300 Harvard undergraduates directing, producing and performing a wide variety of dances, musical selections, dramatic pieces and poetry inspired by the traditions of South Asia, Ghungroo conveys the strength, enthusiasm and energy of our members.

Since its inception, SAA's size has grown with its scope. With activities and events ranging from the South Asian Journal, our journal of South Asian political and economic affairs, to Andaaz, a biennial South Asian Fashion show, SAA has expanded to reach out to students across Harvard's campus and beyond. We hope you take the time to explore this website and the many facets of SAA and our affiliate groups. There are many ways to get involved with the community from joining the leadership, to performing in shows or joining a planning committee. If there is something you'd like to see SAA do, don't hesitate to contact us at harvardsaa@gmail.com. We greatly appreciate your interest in our organization and the South Asian initiatives at Harvard.

Sincerely,
Rohit Ramani and Preetha Hebbar
2012-2013 Co-Presidents



Chairs The Chairs

Co-Presidents

Rohit Ramani '14 | Co-President
email: rramani@college.harvard.edu

Rohit is a Junior in Quincy House, pursuing a joint concentration in Statistics and Mathematics (Quantitative Finance Track). In addition to being SAA Co-President, he is also a member of the South Asian Men’s Collective, the Undergraduate Admissions Council and the Harvard Financial Analysts Club. He loves eating insanely spicy Indian food, playing basketball and tennis, dancing randomly, teaching and…..shopping. He also has an intense passion for R&B music. If you have any questions about SAA or Harvard-life, please feel free to contact him at rramani@college.harvard.edu



Preetha Hebbar '14 | Co-President
email: phebbar@college.harvard.edu

Preetha is a junior in Cabot house and is a History of Science concentrator with interests in global health. Aside from South Asian Association, her first love, she is involved in the Harvard Crimson, is a Peer Advising Fellow and is a board member of the Harvard Wellness Project. As a South Indian from the South, she loves country music, Chick-fil-A and the world "y'all" as well as watching cricket, eating yogurt rice and belting Bollywood tunes. If you have any questions about anything related to South Asian Association or anything at all, please feel free to contact her at phebbar@college.harvard.edu.

Secretary

Sachin Patel '15 | Secretary
email:sachinpatel@college.harvard.edu

Sachin is a Sophmore in Quincy House, planning a concentration in Statistics and a secondary field in East Asian Studies. Outside the SAA, he is a member of the Varsity Men's Squash Team, an Advertising Associate for The Crimson Business Board, and the Harvard Financial Analysts Club. In his free time, he loves teaching piano lessons through PBHAs HARMONY program. He is a die hard Philadelphia sports fan and loves to play soccer, golf, and basketball. If you have any questions, please contact him at sachinpatel@college.harvard.edu.

Outreach Chair

Ishaan Desai '15 | Outreach Chair
email: ishaandesai@college.harvard.edu

Ishaan is a sophomore in the splendid Kirkland House, likely concentrating in Molecular and Cellular Biology or Economics. Since coming to Harvard College, Ishaan has developed a strong interest in South Asia and South Asian issues. After visiting Mumbai during his winter and spring breaks, Ishaan hopes to work in India at some point in his life. As Outreach Chair, he looks forward to promoting community service projects and serving as the liaison between Harvard SAA and the greater South Asian community.

Academic/Political Chair

Sidhant Misra '14 | Academic/Political Chair
email: sidhantmisra@college.harvard.edu

Sidhant is a junior in Leverett House concentrating in Economics with a secondary in either Computer Science or Government. Looking towards a career in public policy, he also serves as the chair of the Harvard Political Union at the Institute of Politics. Sidhant is also a member of the Harvard Crimson editorial board and the Harvard Club Baseball team. When not academically engaged, Sidhant can be found listening to alternative/indie rock music, emulating Ryan Gosling (and failing at it), or reading Malcolm Gladwell's latest contribution to humanity.

Co-Cultural Chairs

Fatima Mirza '15 | Cultural Co-Chair
email: fmirza@college.harvard.edu

Fatima Mirza is a sophomore in the best house on campus, Adams! She is concentrating in Molecular and Cellular Biology with a secondary in Global Health and Health Policy and a citation in Spanish. On campus, she is involved with the Harvard Islamic Society, World Model United Nations, and the Crimson. In her free time, she likes to eat lots brown food, watch brown movies, and wear brown clothes. She is very brown :)



Zarmeena Dawood '15 | Cultural Co-Chair
email: zdawood@college.harvard.edu

Zarmeena is a sophomore in the best house campus on Adams! She is concentrating in biomedical engineering with a secondary most likely in Near Eastern Languages and Civilizations and a citation in Arabic. She is involved in Harvard Isamic Society and Keylatch afterschool program. She also likes to be brown :) and she is very excited to be a part of SAA!!

Social chair

Sasanka Jinadasa '15 | Social Chair
email: jinadasa@college.harvard.edu

Sasanka is a sophomore in Mather House (singles for life!), concentrating in something in the humanities. She is not only the social chair of SAA, but the treasurer of the Radcliffe Union of Students. Sasanka loves being Sri Lankan, dancing, partying, feminism, and blogs and her favorite foods are samosas, kiribath, and mangoes. If you have any questions or suggestions about what the SAA social chair can do for you, please feel free to contact her at jinadasa@college.harvard.edu.

Treasurer

Prateek Agarwal '15 | Treasurer
email:pagarwal01@college.harvard.edu

Prateek is a sophomore in Kirkland House, planning to concentrate in Molecular and Cellular Biology with a secondary in Economics. Outside of South Asian Association, he is actively involved in almost all the programs of the International Relations Council. Prateek has always had a love for his Indian heritage, and enjoys eating Indian food and watching Bollywood movies. If you have any questions about the position of Treasurer, SAA, or life at Harvard, feel free to contact him at pagarwal01@college.harvard.edu

Publicity Co-Chairs

Farheen Mukarram '15 | Publicity Co-Chair
email: farheenmukarram@college.harvard.edu

Farheen is a sophomore in Kirkland House from Los Angeles, CA most likely concentrating in Government with a secondary in Computer Science. Aside from her position as Co-Publicity Chair for Harvard SAA, she is also involved with the Harvard Islamic Society and Harvard Model Congress. She enjoys photography, shopping, basketball, tennis, cooking, baking and watching lots of television and movies. If you have an questions about Harvard SAA, brown life at Harvard or simply life in general feel free to shoot her email!



Gunsagar Gulati '14 | Publicity Co-Chair
email: gunsagargulati@college.harvard.edu

Gunsagar is a junior in Adams House from Boulder, CO concentrating in Human Developmental and Regenerative Biology with a secondary field in Global Healvvth and Health Policy. He is interested in pursuing a career in clinical medicine and public health. Gunsagar enjoys reading, listening to music, running, eating, sleeping, meeting new people, and having a great time with his friends. Feel free to contact him if you have any questions or comments regarding the Harvard South Asian Association or life in general!

Historian

Anisha Shenai-Khatkhate '14 | Historian
email: ashenai@college.harvard.edu

Anisha is a Junior in Adams House, concentrating in Neurobiology with a secondary in Philosophy. This is Anisha’s third year on SAA board, as former Cultural Chair, and Freshman Representative the year before that. Outside of SAA, Anisha is also director of Harvard’s South Asian Dance Company, on the photography board of the Crimson, and Discussion Chair of Harvard’s Bioethics Society. As SAA’s Historian, she would like to set up a system to document the association’s events, so that subsequent SAA classes can learn from what we've done, so that past SAA classes can see how far we've come, and so that our own, current SAA class can look back and re-live the amazing memories that are sure to be made in the year ahead. If you have any questions, please feel free to contact her at ashenai@college.harvard.edu.

Freshman Reps

Bharath Venkatesh email: bharathvenkatesh@college.harvard.edu

Bharath is a freshman in Wigglesworth from Chattanooga, TN. Coming from the South, he is still getting used to Boston’s cold weather and is quickly discovering the usefulness of gloves, scarves, and pea coats. Besides SAA, he is involved with the Harvard Glee Club, the Harvard Program in International Education, the Maria Baldwin Afterschool French program, and the South Asian Men’s Collective. Although he is not sure as to what he wants to concentrate in, he is currently considering Government, Applied Mathematics, Social Studies, and Linguistics. When not doing fun stuff with other members of SAA, Bharath can be found cultivating his beard, loitering in Lamont, eating Clif Bars, and running along the Charles (but not all at the same time).



Indira Puri email: ipuri@college.harvard.edu

Indira is a freshman in Thayer. She enjoys reading and playing chess.












Neel Patel email: npatel@college.harvard.edu

Neel is a freshman living in Hollis and planning on concentrating in Computer Science. He's originally from Orlando, Florida, and misses year-round flip flop weather. Aside from SAA, he's a member of South Asian Men's Collective, as well as a researcher at MIT's Media Lab. He enjoys long walks to Chipotle, surfing, and free food.



Nithin Tumma email: ntumma@college.harvard.edu

Nithin is a freshman in Wigglesworth from Port Huron, Michigan planning on concentrating in CS and Mathematics. Aside from SAA, he is also a member of the South Asian Men's Collective. He loves the word dope and at any given time, there is a high probability that he will be standing next to Neel.




Saahil Siddoo email: ssiddoo@college.harvard.edu

Saahil is a Freshman in Holworthy House from Vancouver, Canada. He likes to think he is a real "international student" and uses the fact that he is Canadian to justify anything he does on campus. He is really excited to be a part of the SAA community and enjoys showing his culture to the rest of Harvard! Other than SAA, he is involved in Bhangra and plays Club Basketball. He has no idea what his academic future holds, but he enjoys trying new things and challenging himself! When Saahil is not dancing or on the court, he enjoys acting and making funny catch-phrases!





Sreeja Kalapurakkel email: skalapurakkel@college.harvard.edu

Hello and Namaste! My name is Sreeja and I am a Freshman living in Greenough. I have lived my entire life in the very distant city of Boston, MA; however, I make frequent visits to my motherland, Kerala, India, which in my humble opinion is the most beautiful place in the world. Above all else, I enjoy dancing in its every variety, reading, traveling, and spending time with family. I relish the chance to represent my culture wherever I am and to use culture to effect change for the better. Being a part of SAA has been incredibly fun, and I look forward to its thriving future!



Udai Bothra email: ubothra@college.harvard.edu

Udai is a Freshman in Canaday. Originally from Jaipur, India, he enjoys soccer, playing the piano, reading, mountaineering and sleeping! At Harvard, he serves on the Board of the Harvard International Review and is also involved in the Woodbridge International Committee as an executive member. He is also a part of the Veritas Financial Group and a member of the South Asian Men's collective. When not struggling with the food at Annenberg, Udai can be found disturbing those trying to study at Lamont Cafe with a coffee in his hands. Even though his intended concentration changes everyday, he currently wants to major in Economics and Philosophy (It was Physics and History yesterday!).





Veeral Mehta email: veeralmehta@college.harvard.edu

Veeral is a Freshman in Matthews House from New York City and planning on concentrating in one of the life sciences. He enjoys playing tennis, basketball, and watching ESPN. Other than SAA, he is involved in Harvad Model UN, the Red Cross, and the South Asian Men's Collective. When not in class or at Lamont Library, he enjoys watching Suits and How I Met Your Mother.

Contact Get in Touch

  • Address:
    Student Organization Center at Hilles
    Box #119
    59 Shepard Street
    Cambridge, MA 02138
  • Email: harvardsaa@gmail.com