Moumita Das Roy
Auckland, November 12, 2023
My Diwali is about being who you are, no matter where you are.
A closed street, a melting pot, and a business council making room for family. That was my Diwali this year, in Auckland, New Zealand.
This was my first year at the Auckland Diwali Festival and with 130,000 people visiting over the two days, this was the biggest extravaganza I had seen in this country. As I stood there observing the brilliance around me, I was thinking for a while, was I in Kolkata during Durga Puja or in Mumbai during Ganesh Chaturthi?
Diwali-on-Queen
This is the 22nd year of the Diwali Festival, after a two-year pause in 2020 and 2021, and the biggest ever too. The two days of festivity included cultural performances, vegetarian street food, vibrant arts and crafts, and clothes and jewellery shopping, which culminated in a fireworks finale.
Queen Street is in the heart of the city and closing a part of it for the weekend meant multiple diversions and logistics management. But Auckland Council managed it very well with the help of the New Zealand Police, Auckland Transport and other agencies.
As I approached Queen Street, the vibrant colours of the decorations and stalls contrasted beautifully against the city’s skyline.
Aotea Square which is more or less the centre between the two arms of the closed-off sections of Queen Street, had a massive stage with non-stop performances. There were two other performance areas to accommodate more performers and viewers.
The stages came alive with a kaleidoscope of song and dance sequences.
Classical dance, Bollywood fusion, and traditional music filled the air. Watching the artists pour their hearts into their craft, I could not help but be moved by the power of art to transcend borders and touch the soul.
One of the most poignant moments of the festival was witnessing the sense of community that permeated the crowd. Families gathered in clusters, children danced with abandon, and strangers exchanged smiles and stories.
I was floating from stall to stall, eating, buying knick-knacks, soaking in the familiarity. Of shared smiles and samosas, of bonds beyond borders, of the colourful vibrancy of henna and rangoli. And stopping by to capture a few moments on my camera.
Engaging with the Epic Heroes
I had a brief encounter with Ram and Hanuman of the famous Hindu epic Ramayana, while they were on a break from their performance, making time to talk to a few mortals. Met a mother-daughter duo, dressed so pretty and looked as if they had just arrived straight from the hills of the Himalayas in India. Also caught the owners of my favourite Indian restaurant, Joshi’s Indian Restaurant on 57 Mt Eden Road, trying food from other stalls for a change.
Diwali is not just an event; it is a reminder that the essence of this festival knows no boundaries and transcends time. It is this spirit of Diwali that fascinates me, a beacon of love and unity in an ever-changing world. Of camaraderie, and, community, of letting go of the done thing and trying something new.
Hobsonville, a cultural melting pot
Next, I took a ferry from Downtown to go over to Hobsonville Point in the evening. The organisers Amar Trivedi, Dee Trivedi and Deepshikha (Dee) Vyas invited me to experience a community celebration of Diwali, something that is often seen back home.
I have been to many community events in Auckland, but I must say this was the most multicultural milieu I have been to. The performers on stage were not just Indians but a mix of Pākehā, Māori, Pasifika and people from other ethnicities.
“Don’t be shy girl, go bananza” to top Bollywood numbers to Kathak and Bharatnatyam, the audience was not deprived of any genre of music. The place was bustling with eclectic energy.
A Pākehā lady insisted I wear henna on my hands because the girl applying it “was so good and the colour looked bright.”
There were a number of food stalls here too and I could not resist having some more food even though I was quite full. The evening ended in an impromptu and non-stop Bhangra with the audience joining on stage in a blitz.
My friend Ania Migdalek-Jablonska who accompanied me to the event summed it up beautifully when she said, “some came to the festival for spiritual reasons, some for cultural and some, like me, out of curiosity”. Hobsonville Point Diwali Festival did not disappoint any.
INZBC celebrates with family
The two-day festivity ended with an invitation from Indian New Zealand Business Council as I joined Garry Gupta, and Franky Wang among others for a family get-together at a café strategically placed opposite the main performance area on Aotea Square. Over great food and conversations, more bonds were made.
With joy and laughter as the universal language, Diwali is a testament to the unifying power of festivals. While I could not stay for the fireworks that started much later in the night, the lights of Diwali illuminated not only Queen Street but also kept the flame of cultural pride burning bright within me. Yet another moment of being proud of who we are, no matter where we are.
Moumita Das Roy is a cross-industry marketer with experience in Nonprofit, Media, Advertising, and Telecom and has worked in some iconic global organisations. She lives in Auckland and writes regularly for Indian Newslink.
