Malini Yugendran
Auckland, November 7, 2022
It was a great gathering at the Ladbrooks Community Hall in Christchurch on November 5, 2022, as members of the Canterbury Indian Tamil Association gathered for their first, post-Covid Deepavali celebrations.
The event started with the traditional Tamil Thai Vazhthu and the lighting of the lamps.
“Fire is brightness and radiance. It is a dispeller of darkness. It symbolises knowledge and the eradication of ignorance, as such, it has been a tradition to light lamps in all festivities” Canterbury Indian Tamil Association’s President, Godwin Samuel told Indian Newslink.
The Tamil Community in the Canterbury region accounts for about 400 people and more than 200 of them attended the event.
When asked how Canterbury Indian Tamil Association was able to bring almost more than half the community together, Samuel said, “Every single volunteer contributed to the success of the programme. It is only fair to state that they were the true stars of the Deepavali celebrations and a fantastic example of how people working together with a collective goal can achieve the best results for the community.”
Deepavali Gaiety
The evening opened with a Bharata Natyam performance by Manya Parmar of Revathi Performing Arts. This was followed by some karaoke performances to Tamil hits.
The event was interspersed with energetic dances. The audience expressed much appreciation for a special clarinet repertoire by a young member of the community, Harshavathen Parthiban. There was also a special instrumental ensemble of Bansuri Indian flute played by Nelson, Sitar by Liam Oliver, and Tabla by Joshua Devanbu.
The event ended with delicious Tamil cuisine.
Care, continuity and community service
The Canterbury Indian Tamil Association was established in 2019 and since then, organising events has been a challenge for its member with the lockdown and Covid-19 restrictions.
However, the Association has ensured that the community stayed connected and took the initiative to take care of their needs during the Covid-19 restrictions. They continue to provide student support programmes, senior support initiatives and health care support services.
Vice-President Monty Kumar said that the Association continues to impart the Tamil ethnolinguistic identity through Tamil language classes for children, Tamil blog posts, and other language-based initiatives.
Canterbury Indian Tamil Association also runs women’s Badminton and other sports activities regularly.
Further information can be obtained from membership.cita@gmail.com
Malini Yugendran is an Indian Newslink Reporter based in Auckland.
