Chak de! Friendship Games

The Australia India Friendship Games offered a great opportunity to promote multicultural harmony through sport,

“The price of the democratic way of life is a growing appreciation of people’s differences, not merely as tolerable, but as the essence of a rich and rewarding human experience,” said Jerome Nathanson, capture the essence of Harmony Day. beautifully. Celebrated on 21 March each year and managed by the Department of Immigration and Citizenship, Harmony Day celebrates the cohesive and inclusive nature of our nation and promotes the benefits of cultural diversity. The 2010 theme for Harmony Day was “Express Yourself” and Victorian Sikh Association (VSA) was up for the challenge! VSA initiated the Australian Friendship Games as part of their commitment to the State Government agenda of promoting understanding, multiculturalism, tolerance and fostering a strong sense of community. All Melbournians were invited to this free community event. There was music, DJs, drummers and of course, a top level hockey match!

The guest list was impressive to say the least, from members of the parliament to university in diversity experts. It was a glorious autumn afternoon with the sun shining brightly on the lush green stadium and a picture perfect blue sky.

The event started with an opening note by the VSA President, Mr. Harvin Dhillon. He thanked the crowd for coming together and showing their support to send a strong message to the rest of the world that we are united and will not tolerate any person or organisation threatening to undermine our unity. The event officially commenced with the crowd standing to sing the Indian and the Australian national anthems. And I must say, it was an amazing feeling hearing “Jana Gana Mana” and “Advance Australia Fair” one after another, trying to retrospectively analyse if I related to any one more than the other! This was followed by the observation of a minute’s silence in memory of the late Gurshan Singh, a three year old toddler who went missing in early March and was found dead after a homicide investigation.

Hon. Maxine Morand addressed the crowd praising the effort of the VSA in promoting multiculturalism and fostering a strong sense of community by engaging through sport. An interesting fact that stuck out was that Australians come from across 200 countries, speak 200 different languages and follow 20 different faiths! Wow… we are truly a multicultural nation!

Winners

for engagement between cultures. He was glad that VSA chose hockey and not cricket, given India recently hosted the Hockey World Cup in Delhi.

The formalities over, the crowds were enthralled by the voice of dhol beats and following the dhol player were five energetic students from the Swinburne University Punjabi Club who broke out into an enthusiastic bhangra performance which was enjoyed by people of all age groups. Then the true stars of the evening, the Guest language clearly said, “Bring it on”! The crowd cheered and the game commenced... Simultaneously, there was an appetising spread of afternoon tea that had been arranged. It was great to see the informal atmosphere as people got a chance to mingle and chat with the local members of parliament present.

All in all, this was a Sunday afternoon very well spent showing support for the community, surrounding the recent buildup of tension between Indian students effort of coordinating such events thus sending a strong message of unanimity. This reassures the community and the world that the State Government has the situation under control, not withstanding sensationalism around such issues created by the Indian media.

Oh and the results, the game was won by St.Kilda Powerhouse with the result being 8-3 in their favour! Well done to both teams for the game of the sport, and the sport of the game.