Diwali comes to sydney’s CBd

BY AsTHA siNgH

it was that time of the year between Dusshehra and Diwali, that the preDiwali celebrations were held for the second consecutive year at Martin Place in Sydney’s CBD. The October 17 celebrations included the India Calling initiative, loads of stage performances, flash mob dances, attractive and colourful traditional costume stalls, henna, rangoli and other art stalls, and naturally, Indian food stalls. The day-long event was organised by the Hindi Council of Australia (HCA), and included more than 300 performers, participants and volunteers. Over 6,000 people visited through the course of the day.

The event kicked off at mid-day with a warm welcome and the Australian and Indian national anthems. Students from Cronulla, Mascot and Ashbury Public Schools participated in the feature, and were joined by Double Bay, Canterbury, Annandale, Carlton South and Janali Public Schools.

It was amazing to see the young Cronulla Public School kids depicting the story of the Ramayana dressed as Rama, Sita, Lakshman and Hanuman. Mascot Public School students walked on the stage representing people from different Indian states, wearing Punjabi, Rajasthani, Tamil, Bengali and Kashmiri costumes. This was followed by dance performances to and Twist by the Ashbury Public School students.

(The India Calling encourages school children to learn respect for each other’s cultures, customs, language and religions, and provides them an opportunity to meet on significant days in the Indian calendar and participate in cultural activities).

The colours and energy of Martin Place during a busy working Thursday was phenomenal as people from different backgrounds walked around, curious to check out the action behind the music they must have heard through their office windows. By 12:30pm and during lunchtime, the area was jam-packed.

Of course the portly God of

Balam pichkari steps taught to an interested audience. Garba, laavni, bhangra and the inevitable popular Bollywood dance numbers followed. The dances were energising and greatly applauded by the audience, including the ‘whistlers’ amongst the crowd who had increased in number.

Meanwhile, the henna stall saw a lot of traffic with ladies and even men wanting beautiful designs applied on their hands and arms. The expertise of the session however, was towards the end of the day when the workforce had finished their day and all sorts of city-goers were interested to join the Diwali celebration buzz! This segment was versatile, starting with classical and instrumental performances, before moving onto Bollywood and traditional fusion performances.

The garba performance by ISSO Blacktown, Tagore dance by Arpita, the presentation by the Lotus Dance School and

The other notable performances of the evening were Rhythmic Squad, a Bollywood mash up; Shiamak Group; Pallavi from CK Performing Arts; Raas garba fusion by ISSO Blacktown; dhol giddha group paniri led by Reema Randhawa; and dhol beats dance floor with DJ Dimple.

The competent MCs for this session were Australian and Bollywood actor Nick Brown, and Hindu Council members Emie Roy and Leah Briars.

The cultural programs were managed by Anita Sharma and Sanjay Khanna, and the event was well organised by Sanjeev Bhakri, Raman Bhalla, Bhupinder Chhabra under the sincere guidance of the Chairman of the Council, Prof Nihal Agar. Distinguished guests included the Indian High Commissioner Biren Nanda; Consul General Arun Goel; MP Phillip Ruddock; MP Craig Kelly; MLC David Clarke; MP John Robertson; MP Matt Kean; MP Geoff Lee; Councillor Gurdip Singh; and ex-Councillor Dilip Chopra.

The event was well received as indicated by the number of visitors who attended the event, and it has been hailed as a great success. Many visitors left all eager to attend the Hindi Council Diwali fair, to be held on a much grander scale, only a few days later.

BY RAJNi ANANd LUTHRA

he message of light dispelling darkness can be found in many religions,” Victor Dominello, NSW Minister for Citizenship and Communities and Minister for Aboriginal Affairs said recently, “but no other culture celebrates this with as much energy as the Hindus!”

He was speaking at the 15th Deepavali Mela organised by the Hindu Council of Australia at the Sydney Olympic Park in late October.

Minister Dominello couldn’t have said it better. This year’s Deepavali had it allentertainment, fun and food, catching up with friends, Raavan dehan, and to round off, some superb pyrotechnics.

The atmosphere began with cheerful anticipation of a busy day, with a riot of colours assaulting the senses through many brightly dressed attendees in traditional attire, coloured stalls sporting various wares and services, and the gaiety and camaraderie that is so symbolic of Diwali. The mela drew in some 15,000 people, much more than the UIA sponsored fair only months ago, and delivered in every respect. By the end of the day, the crowd was happy and home away from home.

Both Victor Dominello and Labor veteran Chris Bowen impressed with their speeches on the occasion, also with their knowledge of the festival and the community they were addressing.

TChris Bowen recalled his first Festival of Lights seventeen years ago, when he attended a Diwali celebration at Fairfield as mayor.

Both splattered their speeches with ‘namastes’, ‘shukriyas’ and ‘dhanyavaads’, in what can only be viewed as sharing the spirit of the season.

Hindu Council head Nihal Agar’s address clearly brought out his appreciation for the volunteers, whose efforts were indeed obvious for all to see.

Prof Agar’s dedication to the cause has been so exemplary, that he could possibly be called ‘Mr Deepawali’. Putting in many hours into this voluntary activity, he has gained the respect of the Indian community at large. To the members of the Council, he is a great leader and motivator and has instilled the same spirit of dedication within his team.

Not only did he pick his core team of organisers well, Prof Agar also ensured that they worked cohesively and efficiently. In the end, perhaps it was the clear vision espoused by the Diwali Mela committee that saw the event meet with the success that it did.

High Commissioner Biren Nanda’s speech on the other hand, sadly contained no message of if the fireworks will be on,” he said. “The burning of Raavan is an essential element of the Diwali tradition. However our thoughts are definitely with those affected, as well as with those fighting the tragedy, and so we have decided to push our fundraising appeal very, very strongly.”

Indian community, or indeed the wider mainstream as they tackled an extreme natural disaster.

Even as bushfires raged in the nearby Blue Mountains, the Olympic Park event saw the launch of the Hindu Climate Action Kit. The Kit has been developed jointly by the Hindu Council of Australia and ARRCC (Australian Religious Response to Climate Change), a multi-faith organisation promoting actions to reduce eco-footprint amongst the faith communities of all major religions.

The HCA’s Vijai Singhal who helped develop the kit, said, “The current extreme weather conditions are a very timely reminder to all of us to take action to reduce our eco-footprint. From Hindu teachings and prayers to easy-to-understand science and improving energy efficiency, from ideas for nurturing a sense of connection with Mother Nature to advocacy, this kit will empower us in Greening our temple worship.” ARRCC President Thea Ormerod helped launch the kit at the event.

There were some murmurings that perhaps the fireworks should be cancelled as a mark of respect for those affected by the bushfire, following the Chinese community that cancelled its own fireworks the same week. Raman Bhalla from the organising team revealed to Indian Link that indeed the idea was considered, but the decision was finally taken after some deliberation to keep them on.

Indeed MC Manbeer Kohli passionately urged everyone on a regular basis, to do their bit.

On stage, the events ranged from cultural acts such as songs and dances both traditional and contemporary, to missives from various charities such as Transplant Australia. The standout numbers were crooners Jaspreet Grover and Priyanka Bhanushali, the Shiamak Davar dancers, and out on the grass, the Bollywood flash mob.

Meanwhile, stalls in the outer field did brisk business. The food stalls probably saw half hour long waits at any given time, with stall holders such as the sugarcane juice rushing to refill supplies at regular intervals. (Hey, was that a fight that broke out at one of the foodie stalls? We couldn’t tell from the distance!) The ‘dharmic’ stall selling religious samagri was also busy, as expected, and everyone dropped by at the makeshift mandir to say quiet prayer to Lakshmi and Ganesh, the gods of the season.

The Western Union-sponsored Bollywood dance competition was an absolute hit, with some pretty good entrants strutting their stuff.

The Ministry of Bhangra (MOB) were as forceful as ever as they stunned the audience with their clear winners wherever they go, this time round they saw some stiff competition from the new and innovative Shiamak Davar dance troupe. MOB ended up placing first, with Shiamak Davar a close second. Thank you MOB and Shiamak dancers, for raising the level of entertainment at Indian community functions! And keep up that spirit of competition because it makes it all the more enjoyable for the audience (who are sick by now of the amateur fare to which they are regularly treated).

The Telstra-sponsored Rangoli competition was a nice touch too: it added that ‘back home’ feel commendably, and no doubt inspired many to make plans for participation next year.

Overlooking it all, the big baddy Raavan stood witness to the celebrations, taking it all in with his ten heads, and weathering the hot sun in anticipation of his own fiery end. He may have looked pretty docile, but to the Hindus gathered there, he was evil personified! Come dusk, he was set alight, as revellers cheered. All the evil in the world had been symbolically brought to an end; the world was rid of all negative energies. As if to rejoice, the fireworks display came on, and as the sky glimmered and shimmered with a million lights, to the Hindus it marked the beginning of a shiny and hope-filled New Year.

More pics on page 30-31