Community groups unite to celebrate Christchurch's biggest-ever Lohri

A good thing is happening in Christchurch.

Community groups – which have long been criticised for going their separate ways – are recognising the importance of coming together and celebrating Indian festivals under one roof. As a result, we have better crowds, better organisation and a better experience for everyone, overall.

A good example was when last year, IndianNZ Association of Christchurch and Canterbury Indian Women Group co-organised Karva Chauth.

Now, on January 13, city-based social organisation Indian Cultural Group (ICG) and the newly-launched Christchurch Punjabi Social and Cultural Group (CPSCG), got together to celebrate the Garden City's biggest-ever Lohri.

With over 600 people attending, the event saw traditional jago, giddha dance and bhangra performances, and Minister of Greater Christchurch Regeneration Megan Woods was the chief guest.

Another highlight of the evening was the Miss and Mister Christchurch Punjab 2018 Contest, which was won by Mandeep Kaur and Ajitpal Singh Saini respectively.    

Sandeep Sachdev, president of ICG said, “Ever since we formed ICG a few years back, our goal has been to collaborate with as many people and organisations as possible. We have been celebrating Lohri in Christchurch for the last two years, but with Narinder's CPSCG [Mr Narinder Singh Warraich is the President of CPSCG] coming on board this year, you can definitely see that this has been the best organisation so far. Thus, there are huge merits in community groups coming together.”

Meanwhile, in a bid to give some encouragement to local talent, the event also featured a Christchurch-based singer Gurinder Mann treating audiences to some traditional Punjabi boliyan and folk songs.

Later as the evening warmed up, the entire gathering joined the fun, and danced on the dhol beats and traditional folk music arranged by DJ Vick.

The traditional flavour of the evening was further accentuated by the spread of food that was apt for the festivities – sarson da saag with makki ki roti, lassi, cholle kulche and samosa chat.

Overwhelmed by the response, Mr Warraich said, “We have succeeded in making a small part of Christchurch resemble mini Punjab for an entire evening. Next on cards is the Christchurch Kabaddi Cup 2018 and Vaisakhi Mela which would be held in March.”