DIWALI IN ADELAIDE AND PERTH

Made in India brings you a roundup of all the exciting Diwali events that happened all around Australia in 2015. In this piece, we bring you the details of the Diwali Melas organised in Adelaide and Perth.

The Indian Australian Association of South Australia (IAASA) organised a one-day event for Diwali on 26 October 2015 at Bonython Park, Port Road, Adelaide. There was a sit-down dinner for all members of the association with a dance floor and cultural activities. The event was billed as a family event with food stalls, general stalls, live DJ, performances, children rides and fireworks at the end.

All the dignitaries of Adelaide made it to the event, and after the welcome cultural activities, each guest took to the stage and spoke about the relevance and importance of Diwali as a festival. Of all the cultural activities, the ones where children gave us a glimpse of their classical dance skills took the cake. There was the serenity of classical violin, the rhythm of folk and the sheer energy of Bollywood and contemporary dances.

Tasty food like samosas and sweets were available all through the day. The evening ended with a great fireworks display.

In Perth, the Indian Society of Western Australia collaborated with the Temple of Fine Arts International to enrich their Diwali Mela with a host of classical and Indian traditional events. Here are a few performances that were staged:

• A condensed version of Ramayana in the form of a dance-drama with vibrant, colourful dancing and soul-stirring emotion.
• Ustad Usman Khan, the world-renowned Sitar maestro, playing a piece for the audience
• A performance from Manish Pingle, a slide guitarist from India
• Gujarati Samaj performed a Garba dance with high energy, combining the emotions of the Dandiya Ras.
• Other ballet and Chinese dances performed by other members of the Temple of Fine Arts.

The Swan Festival of Lights also had workshops and activities such as henna, fabric umbrella painting and watching beautiful paintings being turned out in front of your eyes. And the food – everything from mouthwatering dosas, parathas and puris to pav bhaji and chaat were available throughout the period of the festival, keeping people’s hunger pangs away and regaling their taste buds.

If you’ve missed these Diwali festivals, don’t feet, because in 2016, they will all be back brighter, more colourful and with a bigger bang.