Ekta theme ran at ISCC's mid-winter festival

Two things stood out at Indian Social and Cultural Club's (ISCC) mid-winter Ekta festival held in Christchurch on August 12.

First was showcasing the very Indian theme of Unity in Diversity by celebrating the plethora of cultures and civilisational heritage from across north-south-east-west of the country. This was done with short videos depicting the same, scattered along the two-hour-long event.

Second was China Southern Airlines choosing to become the main sponsor of the event, which assumes significance, given the on going border tensions between India and China in the Himalayan kingdom of Bhutan. “In the context of the events of past few weeks, it is heartening that we have a Chinese airline as the naming sponsor of an Indian event. This is a wonderful example of multiculturalism in our city,” said Shirish Paranjape, who represents ISCC in the Christchurch Multicultural Council.

This meant that the organisers, who were hoping to spread the message of ekta (unity) prevalent within India, and between the country and its neighbours, certainly succeeded in doing it. 

Additionally, the festival had over 16 cultural performances with over 80 participants. “Most notable among those was the performance by O’Neill  Irish Dance School, which was choreographed on Bollywood numbers,” said Amit Raut, Vice-president of ISCC.

Swaroopa Unni, who runs an Indian classical dance school in Dunedin and performed Bharatnatyam at the festival said, “It was great to see the Indian community and such talent in Christchurch. I came there especially to perform and look forward to many more such opportunities.” 

Labour MP Megan Woods and Anthony Rimell from Riccarton Baptist Church, who were the chief guests on the occasion, also congratulated ISCC on completing 20 years of existence this year.

The event ended with ISCC members inviting everyone to Christchurch's Diwali to be held on October 21, which promises to be the “biggest-ever”, they said.