As I write this, Dussehra is being celebrated around the world, and on behalf of the entire team at Indian Weekender I hope that this Dusshera brings prosperity, health and happiness for all our readers. I was reading somewhere that Dasha Hara is a Sanskrit word, which means the removal of 10 bad qualities within a person, namely Krodha (Anger), Kama vasana (Lust), Moha (Attachment), Lobha (Greed), Mada (Over Pride), Matsara (Jealousy), Swartha (Selfishness), Anaaya (Injustice), Amanavta (cruelty) and Ahankara (Ego).
I thought this was an interesting thought and since Dussehra is also known as Vijay Dashmi, it is only relevant that we strive to overcome these 10 negative qualities that we may have and be victorious over our shortcomings.
Dussehra is also the beginning of the countdown to Diwali. With the successful Auckland Diwali festival, everyone around seems to be in a festive mood. The Auckland Diwali was also a time when we had the debut event of the Kiwi Indian Thought Series. This was inspiring and thought provoking and we are now determined to promote this even further and beyond. There is a report on the series in this issue. There are also exciting pictures from the highlights of the Auckland Diwali Festival, which we hope you enjoy.
As I write this, there is also the news of Indian student Mandeep Singh's body being recovered by the police. This is indeed really sad news and this year it has been particularly heartbreaking as we have reported so many young and tragic deaths. One cannot help but think of the parents who invest all their lives savings and send their children here to study. In this case, alcohol seemed to have played a big part, which brings to fore another big concern of alcohol use among our youngsters. We would like to hear from our readers on their thoughts around this.
We also bring you reports on the protests that have taken place both in Auckland and in Manukau against the treatment of our Sikh brothers in Punjab, India. With all the news from India on violence related to religion, one cannot help but wonder about the secular spirit that we have always known India to have. Maybe this is something the Mr Modi needs to seriously consider and pay attention to.
Before I sign out, I would like to thank all our readers who took time out to come and visit our stall at the Auckland Diwali Festival. We had numerous people stop by for a photo in our innovative photo booth. I hope everyone received a giveaway. On behalf of the Indian Weekender team, I would also like to thank the participants at the Kiwi Indian Thought Series—both the speakers and the audience without whom the series would not have taken off the ground. We are motivated to grow this and engage more and more participation in this series.
I hope everyone continues to enjoy the spirit of celebration and festivity. We will continue to keep you updated with everything that is happening around the country.
Until next time.