Thu. Dec 19th, 2024
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If you managed to avoid Facebook over the weekend, you may not have realised that a fun-filled event Indian Auckland Meetup was held in Auckland on  Sunday, 22nd November.

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Where it all started:

Let’s begin with giving you a brief introduction of how we built a family of 207 people at our Indian Auckland meetup on Sunday. A young Indian boy, named Rachit Kushwaha, completely new to the country, missed home on a dull evening and expressed how he felt to the people. To his surprise, there were hundreds of other fellow Indians feeling the same way who reached out to him. He managed to have a small meetup, so he could cherish his culture. Little did he know, it was just a beginning of creating the country’s most successful, energetic and loving ethnic group.

Rachit Kushwaha, founder of Indian New Zealand Meetup

Rachit Kushwaha, founder of Indian New Zealand Meetup

A typical day of the meetup:

The meetup organisers pride themselves on organising an event that promotes a positive and supportive environment for Kiwi-Indian youth

The meetup organisers pride themselves on organising an event that promotes a positive and supportive environment for Kiwi-Indian youth

The whole idea behind the meetup is to help people find a friendship that will last a lifetime. The day began with the most fun-filled ice breaker game that provided everyone with the best opportunity to step out of their little cocoons and get to know people around them.

To lighten the mood, we had our beloved Mihir Patel to present a stand-up comedy act. Laughter has always resonated well with people in building connections at a different level.  

The centre of this Bollywood dance was Shivani, who danced gracefully on those famous Bollywood songs. What could be better than a Bollywood dance performance to exhilarate the Indian audience?? This instigated an environment of excitement and joy. Everyone was cheering and some dancing along!

Meetup attendees danced on Dj’s beats, played ping pong & PS4, and had delicious Indian snacks

Meetup attendees danced on Dj’s beats, played ping pong & PS4, and had delicious Indian snacks

We also had food stalls with some tasty baking and spicy Indian food and snacks. People were opening up at this stage, the food stalls helped them develop their new-found friendships, allowed them a chance to chat with each other while enjoying the delicious Indian food prepared by Indigo restaurant.

We had $10 food vouchers available to make sure that the entire event is economical.

To celebrate those newly formed friendships, there was a non-stop DJ where people danced their hearts out, living in the moment and going all bananas. 

Behind the scenes:
With the well established laid out plans along with the non-stop hard work of the team, it proved to be inclusive, not just a mere social meetup group. The team’s hard work and their sleepless nights to arrange these wholesome events have helped them to grow stronger. The team of superhumans/organisers/moderators: Yasmeen, Gaurav Juneja, Rohit Guglani, Sabiha Patel, Sanjana Macwan, Veer Vora, Ajay Chhibber, Kanika Rakheja, Mayuri Mahadik, Palak Malhotra, Supreet Kaur and Khushi Tyagi. We are also grateful for the 11 sponsors who helped us achieve the standards of the event this time. It is an overwhelming feeling to witness people supporting your ideas and initiative to bring people together.

Indian New Zealand Meetup group moderators

Indian New Zealand Meetup group moderators

Last but not least:

At the end of the day, all that we hope for is putting a huge smile on everybody’s face and giving them a taste of the Indian culture they were missing all this time.  

We have been in your place, so we understand how it may feel being miles away from home. We welcome every person with open arms to be a part of our family and experience a home away from home. 

Want to join in for the next meetup? Find us on:

Facebook: 

“Indian New Zealand Meetup” https://www.facebook.com/groups/indiannewzealandmeetup

“Behind the Dreams” https://www.facebook.com/behindthedreams.co.nz 

Instagram:

“Indian New Zealand Meetup” @indiannewzewlandmeetup

“Behind the Dreams” – @behindthedreams.co.nz

On Sunday 22nd Nov, more than 200 kiwi-Indians attended Indian Auckland Meetup

On Sunday 22nd Nov, more than 200 kiwi-Indians attended Indian Auckland Meetup

Editor The Indian News

By Editor The Indian News

Yugal Parashar, Editor, The Indian News

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