Festival of lights returns to Henderson
‘‘I think it is going to be better than anything that has been done out here before’’
The best thing seven-year-old Shani Charan likes about Diwali is the lights.
‘‘I love all the little lights and all the sweets,’’ she says.
And there will be plenty of both at Te Pai Netball Courts on October 23, when west Auckland will host a grand celebration for the Hindu festival.
The annual event, which is in its 16th year, has been organised by the Waitakere Indian Association.
More than 5000 people are expected to come through the gates between 11am and 10pm, says current treasurer and past president Naveen Prakash.
Six months in the making the festival - with a $100,000 budget will feature 45 performances including a special stage play Ram Leela by a theatre company from India.
There are also going to be more than 20 vegetarian food stands and 15 craft stalls.
‘‘We have been going hard out with the preparations, come rain or shine we will go ahead with the programme, only a cyclone can stop us now,’’ he says.
However, Prakash says the real treat is going to be when the night sky in west Auckland will come alive with an eight-minute musical outdoor fireworks display based on the story of Diwali.
‘‘I think it is going to be better than anything that has been done out here before, that’s the one to really look out for.’’
The word Diwali is derived from the Sanskrit word Deepavali, which means a row of lights.
The festival symbolises the victory of the Hindu god Ram over the evil forces of Ravana, who had captured Ram’s wife Sita - an avatar of the goddess of wealth Lakshmi.
When the couple returned home, locals lit the way with lamps to welcome them.
To honour this historic triumph of good over evil, to this day Hindus across the world light up their homes with lamps called deeyas.
Prakash says the play Ram Leela is based on this story from religious scriptures.
The event will begin with a blessing by a kaumatua.
‘‘New Zealand is a little heaven for us in the Pacific. For years, Kiwis have openly accepted our culture, food and our practices,’’ he says.