The Indian Weekender - Kiwi-Indian Hall of Fame Special - 07 October 2022

NEW ZEALAND
Friday, 7 October, 2022
Read online www.iwk.co.nz
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Honouring the best of the best
IWK BUREAU
The Kiwi-Indian Hall of Fame
honours and recognises the
achievements of individuals who
contribute to the development and
progress of the larger NZ community.
It is undoubtedly the biggest formal
event of the Indian diaspora in NZ.
The Hall of Fame award began way
back in 2013 and was introduced
to recognise the efforts of eminent
personalities in the Indian community
and honour them.
It celebrates a Kiwi-Indian who
has immensely contributed to the
development and progress of not only
the Indian community but also NZ.
Now in its tenth year, founded and
hosted by The Indian Weekender,
the most prominent news and media
platform for the Kiwi-Indian community -
is a way of saying our ‘thank you’ to the
people who have striven hard to succeed
in their chosen field of work.
The award is constituted by an
independent panel of experts/jury who
invite nominations from the public and
then select the inductee as per the
guidelines set by the Jury.
The list of former Hall of Fame
inductees is illustrious and includes
the likes of MP Kanwaljit Singh Bakshi
(2013), Judge Dr Ajit Swaran Singh
(2014), Dr Kantilal Naranji Patel (2015)
and Dr C.S. Benjamin (2016) and Sukhi
Turner (2017), Dr Sharad Paul (2018),
Sir Anand Satyanand (2019), Roshan
Nauhria (2021).
The Community Excellence Award came
into existence in 2017, realising a longfelt
expectation within the community
of recognising and facilitating some
of the most dedicated personalities
who have worked incessantly in
community service.
The inaugural edition of this award
went to Thakor Parbhu Singh, while in
subsequent years went to well-known
faces of the community Jeet Suchdev,
Harshad Patel and Anjum Rahman.
The red carpet gala event witnessed
the crème de la crème of the country
getting a first-hand experience of the
energy and vibrancy that our Indian
diaspora brings to Kiwi life.
The glamour and entertainment
quotient of this annual event has always
been the talk of the town months after
the awards night.
In 2017, Bollywood heartthrob singers
Armaan and Amaal Malik and seasoned
stand-up comedian from India, Amit
Tandon, had been able to create a truly
memorable night for those who attended
the event.
This overseas star attraction was
separate from the usual pool of talented
local artists who delivered high-octane
performances to keep guests glued to
their seats.
The event also has an envious tradition
of having the country’s Prime Minister as
the chief guest of the event, along with
the presence of many key politicians,
including the Leader of Opposition,
Mayor of Auckland, Ministers of the
Crown and Members of Parliament.
Not to forget, major community
organisations like New Zealand Indian
Central Association (NZICA), Auckland
Indian Association, Indian Association of
NZ, Shanti Niwas, Bhartiya Samaj, Hindu
Council, and Punjabi Cultural Association,
among many others, have been gracing
the occasion with their presence.
Every year, the Indian Weekender
endeavours to step up the benchmark
for the achievements of the new
inductees in the Kiwi-Indian Hall of Fame.
There was a never-before-seen push
for achieving high production standards
of the actual event night with world-class
audio-visual effects and entertainment
packages to deliver a world-class event.
Gujarati school celebrates Mahatma’s Jayanti
NAVDEEP KAUR MARWAH
The Gandhi Gruh Gujarati School,
which is run by the Auckland
Indian Association Inc (AIAI),
recently celebrated Gandhi Jayanti with
great zeal.
With an audience of over 100 people,
all the students of the Gujarati school
performed bhajans, skits, mini-plays,
and dances at the event that took
place at the Mahatma Gandhi Centre on
Sunday (October 2).
Among the performance, the three
monkey’s skit performed by the
youngest children that highlighted
Gandhiji’s proverb of ‘See no evil,
Hear no evil and Speak no evil’ left the
audience asking for more.
A fantastic dance by the kids on the
song Pyar Ki Ganga and another dance
that espoused Gandhiji’s philosophy to
lead a simple life also enthralled the
audience.
The five mini skits showcasing
women freedom fighters - Jhansi ki
Rani, Sarojini Naidu, Aruna Asif Ali,
Usha Mehta, and Kamla Devi - were
amazingly performed by the kids and
deserve a special mention.
“The Auckland Indian Association
has always supported the school to
celebrate Gandhi Jayanti, and there is
no better place to do this than at the
Mahatma Gandhi Centre,” says AIAI
President Dhansukh Lal.
Earlier in the day, dignitaries such
as Hon Consul of India in Auckland
Bhav Dhillon (who was accompanied
by his wife Ruby), Harshad Patel, one
of the Kiwi-Indian community›s most
dedicated volunteer workers, along
with Dhansukh Patel and others, paid
their tribute to Mahatma Gandhi. They
garlanded the statue of the father of
the nation situated at the Mahatma
Gandhi Centre.
“It was a privilege to pay tribute to the
father of the nation, Mahatma Gandhi,
on his birth anniversary celebrated by
our diaspora at the Gandhi Centre in
Auckland,” tweeted Mr Dhillon.