The pre-Navratri Garba night in South Auckland’s Papatoetoe saw Kiwi Indians dancing their hearts out.
The high energy music and dance event took place at the newly built Swaminarayan Complex at Wilmay Avenue in Papatoetoe on Saturday (August 27).
The three-hour, free-entry event saw massive participation from Kiwi-Indian community members. People came decked in their best ethnic attire and grooved to the Garba beats.
Local singer Neel Patel and his team kept the night's mood upbeat as they churned out great dance numbers one after the other and had the crowd asking for more.
Brijesh Patel, one of the volunteers for the Swaminarayan Temple said, “It was overwhelming to see the kind of support we got for our pre-Navratri event. We were expecting about 700- 800 people to come in, but we had around 1200 people who turned up for the night. It was so nice to see the people of our community coming together under one roof and enjoying themselves.”
The guests, too, couldn't contain their excitement about having a relaxed, fun evening, especially after the lockdowns and restrictions due to the Covid-19 pandemic.
One of the guests, Simran Kaur, a Papatoetoe resident said, "It is great to come to such an event and connect with our Indian community. The food was great, and so was the music. The last two years have been tough due to Covid-19 but I hope we have more such events in the future.”
Tina Desai, another attendee at the event said, "I had a great time as I could do the Garba with my friends. We all had a great time mingling, dancing, and enjoying great food."
Overwhelmed by the tremendous response received for this event, the organisation’s trustees are coming up with a similar Garba event from September 29 to October 3.
Kantibhai Patel, a trustee of the Shree Swaminarayan Temple, says, "We want this complex which has all state-of-the-art facilities, to be a hub for all Indian cultural events. We endeavour to make this a preferred venue for all who want to do their events in Auckland. After the success of the pre-Navratri Garba night, we have similar Garba events lined up from September 29 to October 3. We hope to have more and more participation from our Indian community.”