A cross-section of the resident communities in and the Capital had the benefit of understanding the meaning and purpose of ‘Raksha Bandhan’ at the Moera Community Hall on August 10.
Hindu Council of New Zealand Public Relations Office Dr Rajiv Chaturvedi said that the ‘Super Moon’ that lit up the sky on that Shravan Purnima (Full Moon) was a special.
“It would be at least 20 years before the Moon came so close to earth shining with brightness,” he said.
The performers
More than 150 people representing 17 organisations participated in the event organised by ‘Bal Vikas Schools’ in Wellington on behalf of the Wellington Chapter of Hindu Organisations, Temples and Associations (HOTA).
The programme included cultural and folk performances by scores of artistes.
They represented the Filipino community (led by Anita Mansell) New Zealand Academy of Bharat Natyam (led by Vivek Kinra with his students Madhu Ekambaram, Nisha Patel and Priya Patel), Wellington Hindi School, New Zealand Indian Fine Arts Society (led by Radhika Ravi), the Nepali Dance Group (led by Vishal), and classical music (Hemant Raj, Keshav Raj and Kiran Thakrar).
Tagore remembered
Victoria University Philosophy Professor Jay Shaw translated a poem by the famous Indian bard Rabindranath Tagore on the occasion, also known as ‘Rakhi,’ signifying brother-sister love. “I loved the shadows and the light of the earth reflected on my life. With love and affection, all my fervent desires and aspirations have coloured the blue sky with their language. They remain in my feelings of joys and glooms, as blooming flowers are in the bosoms of buds in the nights of the months Phagun and Caitra (Spring); similar to the Rakhi band in the hands of future.”
Tagore had extended the Dharmic symbolism of Rakhi to practitioners of imported religions during the colonial principle of ‘divide and rule’ through partition of Bengal in 1905. Karna Neupane of the Palmerston North Bhutanese community led a dance and music troupe to bring the cultural rhythm of the Himalayas in ‘Jindagani Darpan Chhaya.’
Hindu Council of New Zealand President Vinod Kumar and Wellington Chapter official Tribhuvan Shreshtha were among the speakers.
Bhumika Sharma and Sumedha Bhargava were Masters of Ceremonies.
HOTA Wellington coordinator Vijeshni Rattan has invited organisations and individuals keen on hosting Raksha Bandhan 2015 to write to her at vijeshni@hotmail.com.
From a report by Dr Rajiv Chaturvedi
