A Swinburne Diwali ... S

winburne Punjabi Club (SPC) celebrated Diwali and Bhandi Chod Divas on 23rd October 2009 at Hawthorn Campus. Diwali, the festival of lights was celebrated with great sprit and enthusiasm. The revelers were more than 500 in number, including local and international students, along with staff members from various faculties. The function opened with Indian and Australian national anthems, followed by a welcome speech by the vice chancellor Ian Young. He was honoured by a garland of flowers and a token of thanks by the current president of the club Baljit Singh Sekhon.

The dance floor was burned by the Swinburne Bhangra, Gharbha and Bollywood Groups. The main highlight of the show was a multicultural Bhangra performed by some local students, and a classical performance for the first time.

The show was hosted and conducted by Anuroop Sabharwal Secretary SPC, and the event was successfully organised by Meit Shah, event organiser SPC. A certificate of appreciation was presented to all the participants who gave their time and energy to make this event a big success.

Apart for the mind blowing dances there was mehndi (Indian Tattoo) and artistic handmade Indian jewellery. Beautiful Rangoli decorated the campus floor to set the mood for Diwali, mouth watering food was sponsored by Gujjus Hawthorn, and the non stop dance numbers was played by Oorja DJs.

Swinburne Punjabi Club was founded in 2007 as an initiative of Punjabi students studying at the university. Harpreet Singh Maan, Devinder Singh and Navdeep Arora had the club registered with Swinburne Student Amenities Association (SSAA) in 2008. The Club seeks to promote Indian culture, as well as assist new students coming to university and help them in getting in tune with alien environment. Another aim is to bring in communities, as this would result in sharing of new thoughts and a pleasant experience. The club guides students to resources that are offered by Swinburne University and other organisations such as Swinburne residence and Swinemploy, where they can look for jobs and accommodation. Swinburne Punjabi Club represents not only Punjabi culture, which is an integral part of

India, but also tries to promote all cultures in India bringing in culture awareness so that an atmosphere of tolerance is built on the campus.

Many free events are organised by the SPC, at which everyone is welcome to attend.

SPC is open to all Swinburne students irrespective of their background or nationality. In this year’s Vaisakhi