Rahul Bhattarai
Auckland, October 12, 2022
The Indian community in Southland is preparing to go big on this years Diwali celebration with performers coming from all over the country.
The event will be held on Saturday, October 29, at ILT Stadium, in Invercargill.
President of the Indian Community in Southland (ICS), Vinay Sood said it has been two years since they had been able to put on a function like this due to 2018 Covid restrictions and he was excited about this years event.
He said at least 25 shows have been confirmed and about 4000 people were expected to come for the event with doors opening at 11am and 7pm.
For many, Diwali is also known as a celebration of light, symbolising the victory of good over evil and welcoming their God, Prince Rama, to return to his kingdom, Ayodhya.
In the Indian sub-continent, people generally celebrated the festivals with, friends and family, enjoying a variety of foods and sweets and lighting up the night sky with fireworks.
But in Invercargill, due to logistical constraints, there would be no fireworks for this indoor event but there would be plenty of other activities for people to enjoy, Mr Sood said.
This is going to be a free event with live entertainment, music, and plenty of food stalls mostly showcasing the South Asian Culture, he said.
Many performers were also traveling from different parts of the country just for this day, he said.
From Auckland
Bollywood dance school, Khottey Sikkey, director Kesha Surti said she was going from Auckland with her team of about 10 dancers.
Her team will perform four dances and will run two audience interactive workshops, she said.
As per the 2018 report by Stats NZ, the total Indian population in New Zealand is about 240,000, and 0.5% or 1200 are living in the Southland Region.
The same data also reports there are about 123,384 Hindus living across New Zealand and 612 living in Southland Region.
Rahul Bhattarai is Indian Newslink Reporter based in Auckland.
