Residents of Dunedin in deep South, was also mesmerised by Indian tradition and culture over the past month or so, with the city hosting two Diwali celebrations.

First was the Dunedin City Council supported celebrations held on October 26, and the recent one was by Dunedin Tamil Society held last weekend.

Talking about the October event was Lynda Cullen from Dunedin City Council, who added, “Dunedin’s Diwali was a super success this year, 2019. The morning saw mehendi (henna-painting on hands), bindi (forehead decoration) and various performances, including a Bollywood workshop and belly dancing. A drawcard too, was traditional Indian sweets, as foods are something that are essential for Diwali.” “In the Dunedin Public Art Gallery foyer, there was saree dressing, an Indian Heritage stall (information on the Kalimpong Kids, our past mayor Sukhi Turner, and the one and only Indian male to join the gold rush!), Indian jewellery direct from the continent, bindi decoration, and a mix up meant the turban wrapping didn’t happen, but one of the BIG items that was made directly on the day was our Rangoli at the entrance to the foyer. LED lights in clay lamps or diya led up the stairs to the galleries, and of course the compulsory marigold petals were floated in containers on the reception desk,” she added.

On the day, the performances started with the University O-Taiko team performing some Indian-influenced drumming to get the children and adults to come into the lower gallery where the performances took place on the tiled area. Other performances included traditional dance from the Natyaloka School, Malayali kids performing Bollywood, RASA School of Dance performing a dynamic group dance, Dunedin Tamil Society children singing and adults singing as well as dancing, an Indian drum group, local contemporary dancers inspired by Indian dance, belly dancers and much more.

Meanwhile, Luxmanan Selvanesan, President of the Dunedin Tamil Society, while noting the typical song and dance performances at the Society’s weekend event added, “The highlight of our event was when Associate Professor Ben Schonthal of University of Otago spoke at length in Tamil. His every sentences was clapped and hugely appreciated by over 100 attendees.”

-Gaurav Sharma