The cities of Auckland and Wellington will celebrate the vibrant festival of Raksha Bandhan that celebrates the veneration of womanhood and universal fellowship, on Sunday, August 13, in Auckland and on Sunday, August 20, in Wellington.
The festival will brighten this winter with classical, traditional and folk forms of dances, instrumentals and vocals indigenous to Sanatan Dharma cultures of the world, for example, various states of India, Thailand, China, Nepal, Japan, Pacific island countries and Maori Kapahaka from New Zealand. Celebrating brings together Sanatan Dharmic communities such as Hindu, Buddhist, Sikh, Jain, Taoist, Shinto and indigenous cultures.
Meditation New Zealand, (also known as NZ School of Meditation), a non-sectarian, non-profit organisation and established in NZ for over thirty years is the the host of Auckland event. It warmly invites all Aucklanders to celebrate the Auckland Raksha Bandhan festival from 3 p.m. to 6 p.m., on 258 Balmoral Road (Bhartiya Mandir hall). There is no charge to the general public, however, due to limited seating, RSVP is compulsory.
The Wellington Raksha Bandhan festival will be hosted by Hindu Council of New Zealand, supported by various Hindu organisations, temples and associations. The festival will take place at Moera Community centre, 107 Randwick Crescent, Moera, Lower Hutt, and Wellington. Again, there is no charge to the general public but RSVP is compulsory due to limited seating arrangements.
Widely observed as a brothers’ and sisters’ day, the Raksha Bandhan (Rakhi) is an annual Hindu Festival to reaffirm and celebrate the loving universal fellowship and veneration of womanhood.
“Raksha Bandhan was celebrated on this large scale for the first time in the year 2010, in Auckland. About 700 people attended the function and since then, the festival has been held almost every year in Auckland grew to be part of Wellington’s celebrations as well,” Vijeshni Rattan, Coordinator for the Wellington event said.
Entry to the event is free of charge, however, due to limited space members of the public are requested to book their tickets by e-mailing forum@hota.org.nz.