Victory of good over evil celebrated in Canterbury

Vijayadashami or Dussehra, or Dashain as it is called in Nepal, is big in that country with celebrations going on for almost two weeks. Among these, the tenth day is the most important one when – as legend goes- Lord Rama killed the demon Ravan.

In Nepal, the festivities commence in September and include giving blessings and offerings of tika (vermillion) and dakshina (gift of money) to friends, family and relatives.

All this traditional stuff, along with the modern addition of games such as bingo and ring-toss-in-a-bottle formed part of the Dashain mela organised by the Canterbury Nepalese Society (CNS) on Saturday and attended by over 130 Nepalese living in Christchurch.

Mr Dhruva Khanal, Vice President of CNS informed, “Dussehra is a very important event in the Nepalese Hindu calendar and we are very glad to be able to maintain our culture and tradition in New Zealand. That's why, to make it more appealing to everyone, we also had few song and dance performances as part of the celebrations today.”

Meanwhile, carrying on the celebratory tone the next day, children from CNS between the ages of 6 and 11, also performed traditional Nepalese dance at the nearby Slewyn's CultureFest on Sunday, Mr Khanal added.             

Upcoming Diwali

With Dussehra done, the City's focus now shifts to the Diwali celebrations which was organised by the Christchurch Fiji Association on Friday, October 7 and The Indian Social and Cultural Club on Saturday, October 21 in the coming weeks.