Rotorua Deepawali Festival 2009

Rotorua Deepawali Festival Brings Communities Together

The Rotorua Deepawali Festival 2009 was officially opened by His Worship the Mayor, Kevin Winters JP, by lighting the lamp on Saturday, 7th November 2009 at the Rotorua Energy Events Centre. Many dignitaries including Grahame Hall ex-Mayor and the current chairman of Rotorua Trust, Dr Rajen Prasad (Member of Parliament), Kaumatua John Marsh (MBE JP), Swami Vigyananand ji from India, and a number of councillors participated in the opening ceremony and spoke for few minutes. Dr Shashi Patel (Festival Committee) welcomed the gathering and best wishes messages were given by President of Rotorua Ethnic Council, Settlement Support coordinator, and Patron of Hindu Elders Foundation. The Master of Ceremony was Ms Pritika Sharma, and vote of thanks was given by Mr Samir Shah.

More than 3000 people from both Rotorua and out of town came to participate, celebrate, enjoy and bless this unique smoke-free, alcohol-free and meat-free festival.

The event was proudly sponsored by Rotorua Trust, First Sovereign, The Lion Foundation, Asia NZ Foundation, Creative Communities NZ Rotorua Scheme, The Southern Trust, and COGS; and supported by Hindu Council of New Zealand, Rotorua District Council, Settlement Support NZ, Rotorua Ethnic Council, Friends of India Society, BOP (Rotorua) Indian Association, Rotorua Fiji Indian Association and other community organisations; Waiariki Institute of Technology, Rotorua Public Library, and many businesses. Transformation from Hindu festival to Rotorua community festival is already happening.

The Rotorua Deepawali Festival 2009 is also notable for being an important milestone for Hindu-Maori relations (whakawhanaungatanga). A number of Maori cultural traditions such as karakia, powhiri, kapa haka were performed during the festival. The respect and relations that the Hindu Council of New Zealand had built over the years have brought Hindu community closer to the Maori community.

Kaumatua John Marsh (MBE JP) and Swami Vigyananand ji recited Maori and Hindu prayers, respectively, and blessed the occasion. Natanahira Te pona, Rotorua’s Tohunga Whakairo (master carver), sculpted a Maori carving of a "Rehua" to celebrate the journey of friendship between Hindu and Maori communities. Natanahira Te Pona presented the carving to Swami Vigyananand who was representing the Hindu community. In return, Swami ji presented a Nataraja statue to John Marsh’s whanua.

Carving has a symbol of Om and Sun in the Rehua means so much to Hindu community. The Sun is described as the soul of the universe, representing the life-force on earth which sustains everything. This is the energy of confidence and power, consistency and inspiration. Carving of Rehua symbolises a big leap in Hindu-Maori relations.

“We are really humbled and honoured by the Maori community’s gesture of carving a special Rehua for our community” said Dr Guna Magesan, the coordinator of Rotorua Deepawali Festival and General Secretary of Hindu Council of New Zealand.

Following the opening ceremony there were various workshops on ancient Indian art (Rangoli), yoga, belly dancing, wearing a sari, Indian cooking (roti making), and arts & crafts for children. All workshops were popular and some workshops were either repeated or continued for longer time due to popular demand. The food stalls were supported by Indian restaurants. Many Rotorua public experienced a variety of Indian vegetarian food. Health Rotorua, Rotorua Area Primary Health Service, NZ Vegetarian Society, Rotorua Multicultural Business Council had set up “information & education” stalls for the benefit of Rotorua public.

A number of young women, including a Maori, raised some funds with their henna skills and donated the collection to Ekal Vidyalaya Foundation – one teacher school.

Kaumatua John Marsh also led a special powhiri (traditional Maori welcome) that afternoon, at Apumoana Marae for guests from Auckland, Hamilton, Tauranga, Taupo, Palmerston North and Wellington. Dennis Hanson, Kaumatua from Auckland led the Hindu elders during the powhiri and Pravin Patel and Swami Vigyananand ji spoke from Hindu Elders side. At the end of the Maori welcome ceremony, participants shared dinner with the Maori Elders. The food was prepared by Savita Ben and volunteers. This is the sixth time that Hindu Council of New Zealand had organised a Marae stay for the Indian community to learn, understand and experience Maori culture and customs. Over the years, it has become a popular programme, and more people are interested in participating in Marae stay.

A spectacular Indian cultural show was held at the Energy Events Centre from 6.30 p.m. to 9.00 p.m. A huge response for tickets resulted in a waiting list of more than 250 people. Sailesh Patel welcomed everyone on behalf of Rotorua Deepawali Festival committee. The cultural show started with a Maori blessing by John Marsh, and a Maori dance performance by youth group of the Ngati Rangiwewehi Roopu Rangatahi. Swami Vigyananand ji blessed the occasion with Hindu prayer and briefly mentioned about the purpose of his visit and Hindu Maori relations. Neelima’s school of dance, Anujay Natyalayam and Padma’s school of classical dance and a youth group from Auckland, Kalaaniketan Dance Academy, Kadam Dance Academy from Hamilton performed a variety of classical and folk dances entertaining the audience. Manjit Singh presented an excellent classical music with tabla, while Leela Patel (Shortland St fame) sang two melodious songs. A yoga demonstration by Paul Barton and his group left the audience awed with their flexibility. Pravin Patel (Hindu Elders Foundation) introduced all committee members and thanked them for their hard work, and for providing an excellent programme to the Rotorua community. Ratnesh Raj thanked all sponsors for having confidence in our committee by providing financial support. He also thanked all who helped the festival in various ways. Ms Usha Tipparaju and Mr. Suresh Gobindlal were the master of ceremonies for the cultural show.

After the cultural show, everyone walked to Government gardens for the concluding fireworks display at 9.30 pm. Drum beats by Samblasta group entertained everyone and many people found it only natural to start dancing to the rhythm of the music.

We sincerely thank media for playing a key role in promoting this festival, charitable funding agencies for sponsoring the event and community organisations & businesses for supporting the festival and members of the public, both from Rotorua and out of town, for making the event a success.

ENDS

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