Kiwi Indians now a community in its own right
When I first came to New Zealand almost two decades ago, I came across few Indians. And even among those few the majority were Fiji Indians. I was in Hamilton first and there was no Indian temple there then, though there was a Gurudwara. But then the Punjabis had come a long time ago as vegetable farmers. (We have some of their descendants on the Bombay Hills near Auckland where they still continue with their farming activities.) Like the Punjabis, some Gujaratis had also come here earlier so there are these small groups of early migrant communities who have been there for more than a century.
The Fiji Indians in Hamilton had their Ramayan Mandalis which were well attended especially during the time of Rama Navami. I remember going to one when Swami Adibhavananda from the Ramakrishna Mission in Fiji, who was visiting New Zealand, was the guest speaker. Later, ISKCON (International Society for Krishna Consciousness) established a Hare Krishna temple in Hamilton. Now a Sri Venkateswara temple is being built.
When I moved to Auckland there also were few things Indian. There was one major Indian shop in the city, where all Indians shopped for their requirements. Then another opened in Mount Roskill. Now most suburbs seem to have an Indian shop and even an Indian restaurant. The Bharatiya Mandir in Balmoral was the major Hindu temple in those days. When the Radha Krishna temple was opened in the city many felt it was unnecessary as it was seen as a divisive move.
Now there are so many temples, the Sri Ganesh Temple in Papakura, where there are priests from India, being one of the most popular. Though it is a little far from Auckland devotees seem to flock to it. There are also Subrahmania temples in Auckland where they have priests from India. You also find the various Indian spiritual groups all having their presence in Auckland.
The Satya Sai Baba groups have the majority devotees from Fiji but the Shirdi Sai group is patronised mainly by Indians from India. The Ramakrishna Mission also has majority Fiji people as it was started by Swami Damodarananda who used to come from Fiji and have programmes; but slowly it is attracting others as well now.
Then there is the Chinmaya Mission; the Art of Living organisation; the Mata Amrithananda Mayi Group; the Om Sakthi group etc. You also find all states and linguistic groups having their own associations and celebrating the festivals that are important to them, like Onam this month by the Malayali community from Kerala.
I am told that the Indians’ interest in New Zealand in the last two decades was generated by the Indian movies, which had in recent years been shooting in this country. I believe when the moviegoers saw those scenes they realized how beautiful the country is and became interested. I don’t know how far this is true but another reason for the surge in Indian population here was the shortage of nurses here which led to recruiting nurses from India (mainly Malayali Christians). With the nurses came their husbands some of whom started Indian shops. I know Indian nurses are recruited also in Australia but it seems to be a trend in most western countries.
Because of this increase in the Malayali population they have also started Malayalam newspapers and Malayalam classes for their children. A prominent Malayali Christian (who is not a new migrant; I believe his parents migrated when he was young) is the well-known playwright, Joseph Rajan. In his plays (eg. Krishnan’s Dairy) the dialogue is interspersed with Malayalam.
There are also many Sri Lankan (and Malaysian) Tamils and together with the people from Tamil Nadu they form a large group in New Zealand. Apart from Tamil classes they also concentrate on other cultural activities like dance and music. Bharata Natyam in particular is very popular and apart from performances there are also classes for children. Similarly there are migrants from most (I would say all) Indian states and most of them have their own associations. There are also some theatres which show Indian movies.
Another sign of the growing population is that there are several Indian community papers today, which is good as they cater to the different tastes within the community. There is, for instance, one paper, which concentrates mainly on Indian films. Some of these focus more on the issues that affect the Fiji Indians. In recent years there are also several students coming here to study as fee-paying students. Most of them hope to settle down here after finishing their studies.
The one occasion that brings together all these different groups in the Indian community is the Indian Independence Day, which falls this year on this Sunday. But with the increase in the Indian population it is unrealistic to expect them all to attend just one celebration. It is inevitable that there will be several celebrations of this event. I wish the whole community a happy and enjoyable Independence Day. Jai Hind!"
When I first came to New Zealand almost two decades ago, I came across few Indians. And even among those few the majority were Fiji Indians. I was in Hamilton first and there was no Indian temple there then, though there was a Gurudwara. But then the Punjabis had come a long time ago as vegetable...
When I first came to New Zealand almost two decades ago, I came across few Indians. And even among those few the majority were Fiji Indians. I was in Hamilton first and there was no Indian temple there then, though there was a Gurudwara. But then the Punjabis had come a long time ago as vegetable farmers. (We have some of their descendants on the Bombay Hills near Auckland where they still continue with their farming activities.) Like the Punjabis, some Gujaratis had also come here earlier so there are these small groups of early migrant communities who have been there for more than a century.
The Fiji Indians in Hamilton had their Ramayan Mandalis which were well attended especially during the time of Rama Navami. I remember going to one when Swami Adibhavananda from the Ramakrishna Mission in Fiji, who was visiting New Zealand, was the guest speaker. Later, ISKCON (International Society for Krishna Consciousness) established a Hare Krishna temple in Hamilton. Now a Sri Venkateswara temple is being built.
When I moved to Auckland there also were few things Indian. There was one major Indian shop in the city, where all Indians shopped for their requirements. Then another opened in Mount Roskill. Now most suburbs seem to have an Indian shop and even an Indian restaurant. The Bharatiya Mandir in Balmoral was the major Hindu temple in those days. When the Radha Krishna temple was opened in the city many felt it was unnecessary as it was seen as a divisive move.
Now there are so many temples, the Sri Ganesh Temple in Papakura, where there are priests from India, being one of the most popular. Though it is a little far from Auckland devotees seem to flock to it. There are also Subrahmania temples in Auckland where they have priests from India. You also find the various Indian spiritual groups all having their presence in Auckland.
The Satya Sai Baba groups have the majority devotees from Fiji but the Shirdi Sai group is patronised mainly by Indians from India. The Ramakrishna Mission also has majority Fiji people as it was started by Swami Damodarananda who used to come from Fiji and have programmes; but slowly it is attracting others as well now.
Then there is the Chinmaya Mission; the Art of Living organisation; the Mata Amrithananda Mayi Group; the Om Sakthi group etc. You also find all states and linguistic groups having their own associations and celebrating the festivals that are important to them, like Onam this month by the Malayali community from Kerala.
I am told that the Indians’ interest in New Zealand in the last two decades was generated by the Indian movies, which had in recent years been shooting in this country. I believe when the moviegoers saw those scenes they realized how beautiful the country is and became interested. I don’t know how far this is true but another reason for the surge in Indian population here was the shortage of nurses here which led to recruiting nurses from India (mainly Malayali Christians). With the nurses came their husbands some of whom started Indian shops. I know Indian nurses are recruited also in Australia but it seems to be a trend in most western countries.
Because of this increase in the Malayali population they have also started Malayalam newspapers and Malayalam classes for their children. A prominent Malayali Christian (who is not a new migrant; I believe his parents migrated when he was young) is the well-known playwright, Joseph Rajan. In his plays (eg. Krishnan’s Dairy) the dialogue is interspersed with Malayalam.
There are also many Sri Lankan (and Malaysian) Tamils and together with the people from Tamil Nadu they form a large group in New Zealand. Apart from Tamil classes they also concentrate on other cultural activities like dance and music. Bharata Natyam in particular is very popular and apart from performances there are also classes for children. Similarly there are migrants from most (I would say all) Indian states and most of them have their own associations. There are also some theatres which show Indian movies.
Another sign of the growing population is that there are several Indian community papers today, which is good as they cater to the different tastes within the community. There is, for instance, one paper, which concentrates mainly on Indian films. Some of these focus more on the issues that affect the Fiji Indians. In recent years there are also several students coming here to study as fee-paying students. Most of them hope to settle down here after finishing their studies.
The one occasion that brings together all these different groups in the Indian community is the Indian Independence Day, which falls this year on this Sunday. But with the increase in the Indian population it is unrealistic to expect them all to attend just one celebration. It is inevitable that there will be several celebrations of this event. I wish the whole community a happy and enjoyable Independence Day. Jai Hind!"
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