ISSUE
Friday, October 3, 2025
Volume 16 . Issue 79
Started in 2006 with a small group of about 50 people, the Telugu Association of South Island New Zealand (TasiNZ) organised its annual Winter Meet on June 9. There were fun games, even an indoor cricket match, house, food, and felicitation of few Indian community members, including a young Telugu girl from Christchurch, Nishitha Maarka, who has won several tennis tournaments in Australia and New Zealand recently.
During the event, the organisers also shared some details about what TasiNZ has been doing over the past several years for the benefit of the wider community. Rajeshwar Peddisetti, Secretary of TasiNZ, noted, “We have always been active in helping the community. After the 2011 earthquake, the community became much closer and we are now a registered organization. Last year our association came forward to give both financial and moral support to a Telugu family who were unfortunately involved with an accident. The association has also provided travel assistance to older people and young families in the community. Other contributions include helping families to settle in Christchurch and providing guidance for job seekers.”
“One of the highlights of the association is how it has always recognised young talent and encouraged artists to reach their goal. Several cultural performances have been showcased throughout the years at the many events held by us, including classical dances, western dances, singing, skits, and much more. Some artists have performed traditional dances outside of community events at old age homes and have participated in a few ethnic cultural shows as well.
“We provide Telugu classes and tutoring for those that are interested in learning the language. One of the commendable actions by us is, this year we are going to donate the membership fees to Rainbow Homes, a charity organization back in India, as a way of giving back to our motherland,” he added.
Going forward, TasiNZ has planned several initiatives to further support the Indian community in Christchurch.
“The first one is to establish a career guidance centre to help job seekers, as we all are well aware of how difficult it is to find a job here. The current members of TasiNZ come from diverse work backgrounds and are a varied bunch of people including students, engineers, doctors, research scholars, poets, dentists, chefs, accountants, business analysts, professional dancers and more. The upcoming employment guidance centre will link job seekers to other community members in New Zealand by providing the job seekers a good reference and possible leads.”
Other future initiatives will include organising sports tournaments, Indian cooking workshops, and a special event to honour the teachers from among the Indian community of Christchurch, Mr Peddisetti added.
Started in 2006 with a small group of about 50 people, the Telugu Association of South Island New Zealand (TasiNZ) organised its annual Winter Meet on June 9. There were fun games, even an indoor cricket match, house, food, and felicitation of few Indian community members, including a young Telugu...
Started in 2006 with a small group of about 50 people, the Telugu Association of South Island New Zealand (TasiNZ) organised its annual Winter Meet on June 9. There were fun games, even an indoor cricket match, house, food, and felicitation of few Indian community members, including a young Telugu girl from Christchurch, Nishitha Maarka, who has won several tennis tournaments in Australia and New Zealand recently.
During the event, the organisers also shared some details about what TasiNZ has been doing over the past several years for the benefit of the wider community. Rajeshwar Peddisetti, Secretary of TasiNZ, noted, “We have always been active in helping the community. After the 2011 earthquake, the community became much closer and we are now a registered organization. Last year our association came forward to give both financial and moral support to a Telugu family who were unfortunately involved with an accident. The association has also provided travel assistance to older people and young families in the community. Other contributions include helping families to settle in Christchurch and providing guidance for job seekers.”
“One of the highlights of the association is how it has always recognised young talent and encouraged artists to reach their goal. Several cultural performances have been showcased throughout the years at the many events held by us, including classical dances, western dances, singing, skits, and much more. Some artists have performed traditional dances outside of community events at old age homes and have participated in a few ethnic cultural shows as well.
“We provide Telugu classes and tutoring for those that are interested in learning the language. One of the commendable actions by us is, this year we are going to donate the membership fees to Rainbow Homes, a charity organization back in India, as a way of giving back to our motherland,” he added.
Going forward, TasiNZ has planned several initiatives to further support the Indian community in Christchurch.
“The first one is to establish a career guidance centre to help job seekers, as we all are well aware of how difficult it is to find a job here. The current members of TasiNZ come from diverse work backgrounds and are a varied bunch of people including students, engineers, doctors, research scholars, poets, dentists, chefs, accountants, business analysts, professional dancers and more. The upcoming employment guidance centre will link job seekers to other community members in New Zealand by providing the job seekers a good reference and possible leads.”
Other future initiatives will include organising sports tournaments, Indian cooking workshops, and a special event to honour the teachers from among the Indian community of Christchurch, Mr Peddisetti added.
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