The event was graced by the presence of His Worship Andy Foster (Mayor of Wellington) and Mayoress Ann Foster, Mr. Greg O’Connor (Member of Parliament), Ms. Ria Earp (Chairwoman of Te Rōpū Taki Māori), Members of New Zealand Police, Wellington Free Ambulance Paramedics, and several Community Leaders.
The event started with a prayer to Lord Ganesh and a welcome song by students from Wellington Hindi School. Mrs. Vijeshni Rattan, the President of Hindu Council of New Zealand (Wellington Chapter) gave a PowerPoint presentation and enlightened the audience with activities being undertaken by Hindu Council of New Zealand.
Mayor Andy Foster in his address expounded that Raksha means safety and Bandhan means bond. Raksha Bandhan (the bond of protection) is a traditional Hindu festival celebrated to symbolize the love between a brother and a sister. On this day, sisters tie Rakhi on their brother’s wrists and wish them a long, prosperous, and happy life. In return, the brother’s promise to protect their sisters throughout their life. This filial relationship is now expanded to include not just families but between communities. Hindu Council of New Zealand has been celebrating Raksha Bandhan for many years. So, what better way to strengthen the bond (or Bandhan) between various communities.
In his speech Mr. Durga Dass, (Second Secretary – Press, Information & Culture) to High Commission of India NZ, said that the tradition of Raksha Bandhan can be traced back to the bond between Lord Krishna and Droupadi in Mahabharata. Now this festival symbolizes the diplomatic relations between nations.
Greg O’Connor MP shared his experiences about cultural diversity in New Zealand and the need for recognizing and celebrating this cultural diversity.
“Raksha Bandhan is pride of our Hindu culture. It helped us understand ourselves better and appreciate who we are. This event was well collaborated with multiculturalism and has openly embraced the sharing of the culture and food” Dr. Ramil Adhikari – Hon. Tourism Ambassador for Nepal in New Zealand.
Ms Ankita Sood, Culture & Yoga associate in High Commission of India, NZ held an interactive session on making friendship with our own self and connecting it to mental health.
Senior Sergeants Kannan Alagappan, Raj Bhullar and Sergeant Shaun Selvaratnam from the NZ Police and Deepak and Eric from Wellington Free Ambulance were honoured with Rakhi tying for their first respondent services to keep the community protected and safe.
Shri Dr. Ramil Adhikari, Shri Raveen Annamalai, Shri Pathman Iyer and Shri Tribhuvan Shreshtha were acknowledged for their services to the community.
Selva Ramasami, Executive Committee member of Hindu Council New Zealand and a Trust Board member of Religious Diversity Centre thanked the guests and performers for their presence and participation and the valuable support from the Indian High Commission. He acknowledged the contribution of all the volunteers to make this event a success. Selva further reflected that “Raksha Bandhan in essence is a celebration promoting Aroha-TIN Bureau