The Haryanvi community in New Zealand celebrated Haryana Day and Diwali jointly in Auckland on October 22.
The event was organised by the Haryana Federation NZ.
Around 1000 community members converged on the Swami Narayan Complex in Papatoetoe.
Haryana Day is observed on November 1 each year to mark the creation of the Indian State of Haryana in 1966.
The event kicked off with children performing “aarti”, which was followed by variety entertainment marked by the energetic rendering of Bhangra and Haryanavi songs.
The internationally known artists who performed at the event were Kulbir Danoda(KD), Khasa Aala Chahar, Raju Punjabi and Manish Mast.
The artists were overwhelmed by the crowd response.
International Kabaddi stars from Haryana were honoured by the federation. The players, currently engaged in Kabaddi events in NZ, were also bestowed with a trophy.
Karanjeet Singh Cheema, federation founder, as well as Gurbaj Singh Mall and other members, expressed heartfelt thanks to the volunteers at the event and acknowledged the sponsors by awarding them a trophy on stage.
Karanjeet told Indian Weekender: “This is the first time we are celebrating Haryana Day on such a big stage and it is the very first concert by Haryanvi singers in NZ. We are overwhelmed by the support we received for this event. We want to say a heartfelt thank you to everyone who made this event a great success. Hopefully, we will have bigger and grander celebrations next year.”
Rohit Sheoran, a guest, commented: "It was an amazing event, and such events should be encouraged as they help promote and keep our local Haryanvi culture alive. Kudos to the whole team."