The Indian Weekender, 30 September 2022

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6 NEW ZEALAND Friday, 30 September, 2022 Read online www.iwk.co.nz Yeh Dil Chahta Hai more DEV NADKARNI Rachit, Dil Chahta Hai afforded generous billing to Auckland’s talented voices Quite expectedly, popular Auckland Ankita Ghatani and Arpita Chanda who singer Rachit Bhatia’s ‘Dil chahta contributed handsomely to the show’s hai – Unforgettable melodies overall appeal. to modern classics’ left a rapturous Ankita is clearly a rapidly rising star audience asking for more last Friday (24 on Auckland’s musical horizon. Arpita Sep) at the Dorothy Winstone Centre. excelled herself on the night. Raul Featured regularly in most Hindi film Cardoza, who completed the quartet music concerts over several years now, of singers, performed adequately in his this was Rachit’s maiden gig under his comparatively narrow range of lessmelody-more-rhythm own banner Rachit Music. type numbers. It was a dream first gig: a sellout, as it As well as Rachit’s dynamism on should have been, given both the superb stage complemented by Raul’s own quality of the product (Rachit) and the energetic manner, the show was a visual packaging (the slick promos). It marked delight with frequent and interesting the twentieth anniversary of Rachit’s costume changes by the four singers first stage performance. against Chai Rajapurkar’s quick-changing The show had a lot going for it. The digital backdrops. repertoire, which aimed to cover six The complement of musicians was decades of popular melodies, was exquisite, praised by Rachit throughout an excellent mix representative of the show. the varied flavours of different eras, Don Dilantha’s violin and guitar composers and singers. electrified the interludes while the Selections from the decade of the experienced and talented Hemant 1990s resonated particularly well Thakar and Cloyd D’Mello’s keys with the audience, given the dominant suffused the soundscape. demographic at the event. Deeksha on her Saxophone was Blessed with an incredibly versatile excellent and so were the percussion voice, the ever-smiling, thigh-slapping, duo Nigel and Kris. cavorting and prancing Rachit The characteristic resounding richness has an alluringly energizing stage of the tabla and dholak wielded by presence that would be the envy of the super-talented Navneel, though, many an entertainer. sounded rather subdued by the louder He is equal parts singer and and flatter sounds of the drums. entertainer; the complete Unlike several recent Hindi film music audio+visual package. shows, the sound at Dil Chahta Hai was He straddles the stage with the superbly balanced. paced but is a raagmalika of four broad canvas to choose songs from, same ease, dexterity, energy and Junoo was the show’s MC. classical raags – Khamaj, Bihag, Des picking the right mix would have been a finesse as he traverses through a range Those who left Friday night’s show and Chhaya Nat in sequence. What’s daunting task and Rachit’s team did an of musical genres. wanting more, take heart. Rachit has more, it’s sung in both the Hindustani excellent job of it. His excellent rendition of just one announced another show in early 2023. and Carnatic styles in quick, alternating The selection was both popular iconic but extremely complex number sequences by Dey and Kumar with all and eclectic from a range of eras and proved his awesome talent beyond manner of voice inflections. composers. A particularly clever way of doubt: Ek chatur naar from the popular Rachit nailed it exceedingly well singing extending the range of selection was 1968 film Padosan. for both the original voices – something through medleys, of which there were at This R.D. Burman-composed song, not for the fainthearted. least three – all executed with aplomb sung by the legendary Manna Dey While ‘unforgettable melodies to and with multiple singers. and Kishore Kumar, is not only fast- modern classics’ gives one a very Though designed primarily around Twenty organisations attend HOTA Forum meeting IWK BUREAU Hindu Organisations, Temples and Associations (HOTA) Forum hosted a meeting of over 20 organisation executives and representatives in Auckland on Sunday (September 25) at the Shree Swaminarayan (ISSO) Temple Complex in Papatoetoe. An invitation only meeting, which was postponed due to Covid-19 pandemic in 2020 and 2021, was hosted by Hindu Council of New Zealand. HOTA Forum brings together leaders, executives, and volunteers of multiple Dharma-based organisations to have an in-depth discussion about the success, challenges, and big issues facing the community. The HOTA Forum was launched at the third NZ National Hindu conference held in May 2010. It acts as a platform to bring together multiple Hindu organisations, temples, and associations throughout NZ. Since its start, a Hindu organisation, temple or association voluntarily takes lead in hosting the HOTA forum for a year. The host holds on to the Ekta Shankh (a symbol of unity) as the baton symbolising their lead of the programmes “Strong focus on youth enables our next generation to actively participate in shaping the inclusive future of Aotearoa. We need the next generation to start visualising and working towards to building a pluralistic society in New Zealand,” for the year. Over 55 organisations have been active members of HOTA since its inception and the interest to work together have been growing. The focus this year was youth leadership along with the standard discussions that occur during the Forum. “Strong focus on youth enables our next generation to actively participate in shaping the inclusive future of Aotearoa. We need the next generation to start visualising and working towards to building a pluralistic society in New Zealand,” said Nitika Sharma, General Secretary, Hindu Council of NZ. The day resulted in several discussions that have been grouped into high level themes by the host with action plans in place to implement and bring to fruition the discussions. At a high level, social cohesion, belonging, inclusion, Hindu phobia, misinformation, support from government agencies, engagement with politicians and government agencies stood out as key themes. The successes of the Hindu community as contributing citizens of NZ also formed a large part of the discussions The day concluded with politicians, government agencies and public representatives attending the day to hear about the discussions, deliberations, and outcomes of the day. The chairperson of the Religious Diversity Centre, Jocelyn Armstrong, attended the open session commenting, “Everyone I have spoken to told me that it was a good day of discussions and diving into important issues for the community.” A full report will be compiled and circulated. Membership to HOTA Forum is open to all Hindu organisations, temples, and associations in New Zealand. Contact Nitika Sharma on forum@hota. org.nz for details.
Read online www.iwk.co.nz Friday, 30 September, 2022 NEW ZEALAND 7 Intensifying Tamilian ties NAVDEEP KAUR MARWAH New Zealand as a country has a strong legacy as being a culturally pluralistic and socially unified society. And when we talk about the multiculturalism of NZ, it won’t be an exaggeration to say that the Kiwi-Indian diaspora has played an integral part in NZ’s cultural ethos. The Kiwi-Indians have been maintaining their identity in NZ primarily through numerous ethnic associations. Among Kiwi-Indians, the Indian-Tamil diaspora (about 10,000), which has been increasing steadily, is one of the most active Indian ethnic groups in NZ. The fact that there are around 15 official Tamil associations across NZ bears testimony to it. In the twenty-second part of our series on cultural Indian associations in NZ, we profile the Tamil Association of New Zealand Inc (TANZI), which started in 2018 to serve new Tamil immigrants from all over the world to settle here. When asked to describe TANZI, its President Sowndra Rajan Palanisamy says, “TANZI is a group of people who have come together to help Tamil people from all over the world, particularly from Tamil Nadu, to settle down smoothly in NZ. "Our vision is to uphold Tamil and Aotearoa culture and values in NZ. We aim to help Tamil people adopt Aotearoa values and settle in NZ while maintaining their cultural heritage.” Talking about the story behind its formation in 2018, Sowndra says, “TANZI was started in 2018 officially. "But, as a group, we worked with students, helping in the initial arrival and settling process before that in an informal setting. "We used to and continue to help people to find accommodation and jobs, and diverting them to the right people for help regarding IRD, immigration, accounting, taxation, real estate, and any “We promote cultural festivals like Pongal, Diwali and Tamil New Year, among others. We were instrumental in petitioning and participating in organising the celebrations of Pongal celebration in NZ parliament,” other govt related information. “These services are free of cost. It was well received and led us to make it a registered, not-for-profit organisation in 2018. Associations like us are critical in upholding and passing our cultural values to future generations.” Interestingly, TANZI has been serving the Indian-Tamil community members through Whatsapp groups. Giving more details, Sowndra says, “We have people from all over NZ in our contact list. We maintain three WhatsApp groups for information interchange and to help the community. “ TANZI has 15 core members, 73 members and 1000-plus group participants associated with the free services rendered. TANZI regularly organise social events and participates in events conducted by the Tamil and Indian diaspora. “We promote cultural festivals like Pongal, Diwali and Tamil New Year, among others. "We were instrumental in petitioning and participating in organising the celebrations of Pongal celebration in NZ parliament,” reveals a proud Sowndra. Sowndra reveals that as a plan for TANZI, they would like to do more workshops for students and work visa holders and even planning to do Pongal in Marae. “We would love to have increased support and collaboration of New Zealanders to expand the scope further to reach the community. We envision having our wings in all major cities in the near future,” he signs off. HOWICK WARD Maurice Williamson Sharon Stewart Maurice Williamson was the member of parliament for Pakuranga (included Howick) for 30 years. He has recently returned to New Zealand from a diplomatic posting as New Zealand’s Consul General in Los Angeles and is also standing for the Auckland Council here in the Howick Ward. Sharon Stewart QSM is standing for re-election to the Auckland Council to continue serving the community that she loves. Having lived here for most of her life, her family history within the district goes back over 100 years. Together we have serious concerns for how the Auckland Council has been managed. Rates keep rising, spending exceeds income and debt is ballooning. Of more concern is the fact the wishes of the general public are being just totally ignored. Your vote can ensure Auckland’s future. JH17538
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