Thamayanthi Varathan (right) is excited at getting a long weekend for Deepavali this year. Photo / Doug Sherring
Thamayanthi Varathan (right) is excited at getting a long weekend for Deepavali this year. Photo / Doug Sherring
Malaysian Thamayanthi Varathan moved to New Zealand 12 years ago, but feels this will be the first time she can truly celebrate Diwali.
A bumper Diwali celebration awaits Hindus and the Indian communities here, including a long weekend because the main festival dates coincide with the Labour public holiday weekend.
Diwali, or Deepavali, is an important and ancient Indian festival also known as The Festival of Lights that is celebrated over four or five days each spring in New Zealand.
Rangoli competition at 2018 Waitakere Diwali Festival. Photo / Supplied
"Deepavali usually is just another working day for me, but getting a public holiday this year is really giving me a truly festive feel," said Thamayanthi, a 45-year-old quantity surveyor.
The religious festival's annual dates are decided by the lunar calendar and this year falls on Sunday, October 27. Labour Day, a public holiday, is observed on October 28.
Thamayanthi has already booked a community hall and is inviting about 50 of her friends to gather for a pot-luck celebration with Deepavali festival food and snacks.
Botany Juniors performing at Auckland Diwali Festival 2017. Photo / File
Festivities will kick off tomorrow with the two-day Auckland Diwali Festival, which will include New Zealand's largest vegetarian festival.
There will be more than 60 stalls on Queen St near the town hall celebrating an array of Indian foods and sweets ranging from vada, appam, kheer and curries.
There's also more than 50 hours of live entertainment, with more than 200 performances throughout the weekend.
Dharmesh Parikh, the festival's programme director, said the festival had grown significantly since it started 17 years ago.
Food is an important part of Diwali celebrations. Photo / File
He said there's been a marked change also in the food offering with an increasing number of food stalls offering fusion food include Chinese bhel and Manchurian dishes.
The festival also gives cricket fans a chance to meet the Black Caps on both Saturday and Sunday afternoons.
For the first time, several of Auckland's landmarks including the Sky Tower, Auckland museum and Viaduct Harbour will be lit in Diwali colours of fuschia, yellow and orange along with the Auckland Harbour Bridge.
Ghazal Sandhu, Savera Sidhu and Trisha Darji taking a selfie at the Auckland Diwali Festival 2017. Photo / File
Next Sunday, the Waitakere Diwali Festival will take place at the Trusts Arena in Henderson.
Waitakere Indian Association president Sunil Kaushal said the annual event remains the largest community-organised Diwali festival.
"We are not commercially motivated, and focused on spreading the spirit and the true meaning of Diwali," Kaushal said.
"Our Diwali event also serves as a platform for the many smaller Indian associations and groups to showcase what they do and to inform our communities of their existence."
He said the association was the first organisation to initiate public Diwali and Holi festival celebrations, and both have since become major events across New Zealand.
