With more than a thousand people attending, the first-ever Diwali festival organised by the Selwyn District Council (SDC) last Saturday on the lawns of the Lincoln Library, just south-west of Christchurch, was a huge success.
“This is the first initiative by Selwyn District Council under our newly-developed Newcomer and Migrant Strategy. Our goal is to showcase Selwyn's diverse ethnic communities, while giving a platform for social interactions, and mutual respect and admiration for each other's culture,” informed Nicola Ogden, Community Development Team Leader at SDC.
“Along with Indian food, henna and ethnic wear stalls, the celebrations saw around 10 performances that included traditional dances such as bhangra, garba and Haryanvi folk, along with some Bollywood pieces. A major highlight was the fashion show in the end, which saw participation from young women and children from diverse Selwyn communities,” said Surinder Tandon, Senior Scientist at AgResearch—New Zealand’s largest Crown Research Institute based in Lincoln. Tandon, who has lived in Lincoln since 1988, helped the SDC in organising the festival.
“Celebrations such as these have two-fold advantages. Firstly, it helps new migrants from India in settling and integrating in the New Zealand society much easily and much sooner. When you become part of these festivities here, the surroundings seem a bit less foreign to you. Secondly, and importantly, it gives an opportunity to the wider non-Indian communities to experience and learn about the Indian culture. Even in this festival, nearly half the participation was from non-Indians, which is very heartening to watch,” he added.
Meanwhile, buoyant by the success of the Diwali festival, the SDC is planning to organise a big cultural bonanza next year. “This [Selwyn District’s Cultural Fest] will be done in collaboration with the Rotary Club of Lincoln, and of course Surinder, and would be of much larger scale,” concluded Ogden.
Christchurch Sangam also celebrates Diwali; more than 200 attend
Christchurch Sangam—a branch of National T.I.S.I. (NZ) Sangam formed in 1999 along the lines of the T.I.S.I. Sangam of Fiji, which is the largest non-government organisation there—also organised a Diwali festival in Christchurch last Saturday. Attended by more than 200 Fiji South Indians and people from other communities, the celebrations saw Nepali and north Indian dances along with some Tamil performances. “The highlight was our traditional Fiji south Indian dance called Tirikutu Naach, which is always greatly appreciated by one and all,” said Reddy, who was elected president of Christchurch Sangam in March this year.