Christchurch, Ashburton celebrate India’s I-day

Celebrating India’s 75th year of Independence, Indians in Christchurch gathered at Maia Foods to commemorate and join in the flag hoisting ceremony. 

Hoisted by Honourable Senior Army Officer Lieutenant Colonel Sadat Abbasi (Retired) and Dr Surinder Tandon, President of the Multicultural Council, many community leaders joined these esteemed leaders to pay  tributes and salutations to our nation. Dr Sunita Gautam, Community Board Central City, Shirish Paranje, Community Board Member - Waimairi NZ and Archna Tandon joined many others to partake in India’s national day celebrations. 

The Indian Weekender team was present at the event to get reactions of various community leaders. 

Shirish Paranjpe said, “We are so fortunate in New Zealand to be able to celebrate Indian Independence Day with so many members of the community.”

Dr Surinder Tandon said that Indian have been marking their achievement in different parts of New Zealand and we as Kiwi Indian should feel proud to celebrate our Independence Day.

“This is the most important day for Indians no matter where we live. It is chance to celebrate and remember our roots,” event organiser, said Hitesh Sharma. 

Honourable Senior Army Officer Lieutenant Colonel Sadat Abbasi (Retired) said that though there are many events being celebrated in Indian communities, this day has its own importance for us. We remember the sacrifices made to get this freedom and will always stand for the glory of country.

Dr Sunita Gautam said, “It’s great to see how people from different parts of India have gathered today to celebrate Independence Day and that’s the real meaning of India’s Independence Day.”

The event was followed by a cake cutting ceremony, singing of the National Anthem and refreshments.

Multicultural performances were the highlights of Ashburton Multicultural Night 2021:

Ashburton Multicultural Night 2021, as the name suggests, the night was full of performances from different communities and cultures. Organised by the Ashburton Indian Multicultural Charitable Trust on 14 August at Tinwald Memorial Hall Ashburton, the evening saw performances from different multicultural groups like a T &T group who presented their Samoan dance, a Mexican group showcasing their culture with beautiful dance performances. 

One of the organiser Rohini Sukul told Indian Weekender, “Ashburton Indian Multicultural night is celebration of different cultures together. There were many dance, music and performances.  We have been organising Indian events like Holi and Diwali from many years. This was the first time that we have organised Multicultural night. The amount of response we received has encouraged us to organise more such events in the future.” 

The event was attended by Jo Luxton MP (Ashburton) who in her speech mentioned that Ashburton has grown quickly and it is wonderful that people from different communities were coming together to participate in these cultural events.

No labour MP in Christchurch  Onam festival by Kerala Association

The Onam festival in Christchurch had its fair share of drama with a no show by local Labour MPs at this culturally significant event for the Kerala community in Christchurch. 

Organised by the Christchurch Kerala Association, the event started with the traditional lighting of the lamps followed by performances by girls dressed in traditional attire. 

However, the absence of Labour MPs is what caught the eye of our team present at the event. National MP Nicola Grigg said that people understand that National has always supported Indian migrants. The party understands the pain of people stuck in India due to COVID-19, the loss they are feeling due to the separation from their families.

National Party member Dale Stephen said people from different communities are always special to the party and joining in the celebration of their festival, culture is a chance to know more about them. Members of the party love to be part of these celebrations. 

Dale also stressed that the National Party has been trying hard to get the immigration chaos sorted and pressurising the government to let migrants and their families allowed back into the country.