One of the most popular festivals in the Hindu calendar is the nine nights or ten days celebration of Navaratri- and like every year a big ten days, celebration evening is planned at the Mahatma Gandhi Centre.
Mahatma Gandhi Centre is also one of the most renowned and visited event destinations in Auckland visited by the Kiwi Indian communities celebrating many major Indian festivals.
This year, the ten-day Garba-Navaratri event starts from Wednesday, October 10 until late on Friday, October 19. The event will comprise a mix of Garba-Dandiya and traditional music that suits the visitors of all age and group and will be held from 8 p.m. on weekdays till late.
The event is brought by Auckland Indian Association Inc. who has been organising the event for more than a decade, and the footfall at the event has significantly risen over the years.
“We are very excited about the ten-days Navaratri event for which we input all the available resources and energy to make this one of the best Navaratri events of the country,” President of Auckland Indian Association Inc. Narendra Bhana told The Indian Weekender.
“The show is suitable for people of all ages and is not just limited to Gujarati community, but people from all other communities come to the show,” Mr Bhana added.
This year, the organisers have invited a group of five musicians from India who have a reputation of producing fresh music and amazing shows back in India. These performers will be entertaining the audience through the Navaratri event along with a number of Auckland based local talents.
In the past, the show has received such huge footfalls in an evening that the organisers, at times, had to close down the entry and declare the event ‘Housefull’.
“We get approximately 2500-3000 people in weekends and around 1500-2000 crowd during the weekdays. This year with new artists and a good number of fresh local talents- we calculate that our event will become houseful even on weekdays,” Mr Bhana added.
The entry to the event will start earlier in the evening, and the show will commence at 8 p.m.
Another USP of the event that makes it so popular amongst the Aucklanders is the amazing delicacies produced by the organisers at the in-house kitchen at the Mahatma Gandhi Centre.
“We serve a mix of different cuisines and snacks at the event which is not just super tasty and but also high quality made by professional cooks and complete hygiene is maintained.
“Food, music, entertainment, the amazingly enthused audience is what makes the event super successful and one of the biggest events in the calendars of the Indian community,” he added.
The entry to the event is minimal; and school going children, college students, working professionals, homemakers and even elderly people can have a great time.
“We would like to invite everyone to come to the ten-day mega dandiya-garba Navaratri celebration and have a great time with their families, and friends. There will be enough parking spaces in and around the venue, including street parking, great food to serve every ones’ taste buds, amazing entertainment both by local talents and overseas artists and have a grand Navaratri celebration,” Mr Bhana said inviting the community.
Another big event by Auckland Indian Association Inc. just after Navaratri is the Musical Evening with artists from India on Saturday, October 27 at the Mahatma Gandhi Centre from 7:30 p.m.
Event: 10-days Navaratri celebrations
Dates: Wednesday, October 10 till Friday, October 19
Time: 8 p.m. onwards till late
Venue: Mahatma Gandhi Centre,
Adjacent to Shri Radha Krishna Temple
145 New North Road, Eden Terrace, Auckland
Food: High quality in-house cooked food and beverages will be available at the venue
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