November 1, 2016 Indian Newslink Digital Edition

24
Communitylink
NOVEMBER 1, 2016
ANZ honours achievers in the Indian community
Smita Kanwar
smita.kanwar@anz.com
The contributions of the
Indian community to the
progress of Indian economy
were recognised by
a top official of ANZ Bank last
fortnight.
Speaking at the ‘ANZ Diwali’
Festival held at Sudima
Auckland Airport Hotel on
October 21, 2016, Andrew
Webster, the Bank’s General
Manager said that cultural diversity
was important for ANZ.
“Our people come from over
230 different backgrounds. We
have Indian staff from across
the globe and 15% of staff in
our Auckland Business Banking
team are Indian,” he said.
Helping new migrants
Mr Wester said that the Bank
has helped about 7000 Indian
customers into a banking relationship
this year and continues
to help people moving to
New Zealand with its Migrant
Banking Package.
“New Zealand and India enjoy
a strong relationship, with
52,000 Kiwis travelling to India
and close to 60,000 Indians visiting
New Zealand during the
period covering March 2015
and 2016. India is a very important
trading partner for
New Zealand and an important
segment for ANZ both in
New Zealand and globally,” Mr
Webster said.
As a part of its Diwali celebrations,
ANZ had decorated
its ATMs with special Rangoli
designs at 11 locations in
Auckland, Hamilton, Wellington
and Christchurch, in neigh-
Andrew Webster honours Ratna Venkat
with ‘Young Achiever Award’
bourhoods popular with Indian
communities.
The Bank also sponsored
‘Diwali Market Day’ in
Waitakere (West Auckland) and
Christchurch, in addition to special
offers and prizes at its selected
branches.
Among them was a Limited-
Edition Cricket Bat signed by the
Black Caps.
ANZ Community Awards
Head of Migrant Banking Eric
Chuah announced the winners
of various categories of Awards,
selected in association with the
New Zealand Indian Central
Association (NICZ).
Among them were Jay
Randhawa of Waikato (Migrant
Support Award) for services to
the community; Dr Sashi Patel of
Rotorua (Entrepreneur Award)
for making a significant impact
in the community through
small business; Prakash Biradar
of Auckland (Community Spirit
Award) for services to the community
through a not-for-profit
organisation; and Ratna Venkat
of Auckland (Young Achiever
Award) for exceptional leadership
and demonstration of
innovative ways to achieve excellence
beyond what is expected
of them.
As a special gesture, the Bank
National List MP Dr Parmjeet Parmar, Fiji Honorary Consul in Auckland Harish Lodhia, Andrew Webster, Eric Chuah and others
with the ‘ANZ Diwali Award Winners.’
Ratna Venkat presenting Kathak with the support of Dr Sukh
Dev and Basant Madhur
ANZ officials Devika Kumar, Sweta D’Silva, Amrita Prasad
and Pulkit Khorana
presented her a cheque for $500
“to help on her journey to pursue
her passion in the fine arts.”
Earlier, Ratna presented
a Kathak performance accompanied
by Professor
Sukh Dev Madhur (Vocal and
Harmonium) and Basant
Madhur (Tabla).
Smita Kanwar is Channel and
Smita Kanwar with community leaders at Christchurch Diwali on
October 22
Smita Kanwar with Naveen Prakash and others at Waitakere Diwali on
October 23
Business Development Manager
(Migrant Banking) at ANZ
Bank. The above is a highly
edited version of her original
report.
Waitakere Diwali 2016 excels its predecessors
Venkat Raman
venkat@indiannewslink.co.nz
Diwali may have acquired
commercial
overtones with the
standard accusation
that the festival has been ‘hijacked’
by organisations to promote
their own interests, but
the fact that it is attended by an
increasing number of people of
all ethnicities should justify the
means to the end.
In fact, as one reader suggested,
“We should be happy that
hundreds of thousands of people
in New Zealand have come
to expect quality cuisine and variety
entertainment at the festivities
organised at various
venues. The response has been
so overwhelming that Diwali is
today firmly established as one
of the most important events in
the country’s social calendar.”
Indian Newslink has received
reports of festivities held
in various parts of New Zealand,
some of which have been reported
in this Section.
Superb Venue
Waitakere Indian Association
(WIA) celebrated its annual
Diwali Mela on Sunday, October
Robert Khan, Faiyaz Koya, Phil Twyford and Mahesh Bindra at WIA Diwali 2016
23, 2016 at Te Pai Netball Courts,
located at 31-35 Te Pai Place,
Henderson, which is close to the
Trusts Stadium.
More than 15,000 people are
reported to have attended the
event held from 11 am to 10 pm,
with a spectacular display of
fireworks.
Guests of Honour
Among the guests of honour
were Fiji’s Trade Minister Faiyaz
Koya, New Zealand Members
of Parliament Kanwaljit Singh
Bakshi, Melissa Lee, Phil
Twyford, Mahesh Bindra and
Carmel Sepuloni; Councillor
Linda Cooper and Radio Tarana
Managing Director Robert Khan.
The programme included
‘Ram Leela’ by a visiting group
from India, traditional and
modern songs and dances performed
by members of the community
and their children. Stalls
selling food items, household
goods and curios attracted a
larger number of shoppers.
WIA President Mahendra
Sharma writes:
Waitakere Indian Association
has been marking this event for
16 years.
We are mindful of the fact
that Diwali needs to retain its
theme, its respectability and
dignity. Therefore, successive
Diwali Committees have been
directed by our Trustees to have
a good balance of the modern
Carmel Sepuloni, Mahesh Bindra, Linda Cooper, Melissa Lee, Kanwaljit Singh Bakshi
and Alastair Bell at WIA Diwali 2016
Children rendering an invocation song in praise of Lord Ganesha
culture with tradition to ensure
that the Festival retains its light
of wisdom, divinity and dignity.
This was reflected in the ‘Ram
Leela’ performed by the students
of Ayodhya Research
Institute. Their visit was sponsored
by the Indian Council of
Cultural Relations (ICCR) and the
Indian Government working in
coordination with Indian High
Commission and support of Shri
Ram Mandir.
The overall theme of Diwali is
victory of life over death, the victory
of light over darkness and
the ultimate victory of good over
evil.
Let this Diwali enlighten us
and the sweets sweeten us.