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

16
WORLD
Friday, 7 October, 2022
Read online www.iwk.co.nz
Celebrating India in New Zealand
India is macrocosm of a plethora of
different cultures but with some very
common threads running through
them throughout the length and breadth
of the subcontinent: our “Indianness”
which binds us all as one people. While
our distinctiveness comes from our
deep cultural roots, our commonalities
stem from our readiness to share our
culture, cuisines and social mores freely
– creating one great super-culture.
We have lived with this unique unity in
diversity for millennia, which is reflected
in the ancient saying “Vasudhaiva
Kutumbakam” – the world is but one
family. In our special Indian Weekender
kiwi Indian Hall of Fame issue this year,
we proudly present the unity in diversity
of Indian cultures and communities in our
adopted country Aotearoa New Zealand.
We present some of the Indian
community organisations of the people
of Indian origin, though there are
several more in the country. The Indian
Weekender editorial team comprising
journalist Navdeep Kaur Marwah with
Editor Dev Nadkarni have compiled this
section over the past one year.
AKKA celebrates Konkani culture,
language in Aotearoa
India is an extremely
culturally diverse country
and assimilates so many
different cultures in itself.
While some cultures such as
Punjabi, Gujarati, Marathi and
Tamil are more prominent given
the larger geographical spread
and the numbers of people who
speak these languages, there
are also several lesser-known
cultures, such as the Konkani
Culture which runs all along the
western coastal strip of India.
Konkani people are an
Indo-Aryan ethnolinguistic
community who trace their
history as far back as the
fourth millennium BC. With
their population concentrated
in South coastal Maharashtra,
Goa, Northern Karnataka,
Mangalore and North coastal
Kerala they share their name
with the coastline and the
language they speak.
The Konkani language is
spoken throughout the western
coastal belt of India – from
Maharashtra through Goa,
Karnataka and Kerala, though in
distinct regional flavours.
And since many Indians have
migrated to New Zealand, there
is a small yet growing Konkani
population in Aotearoa and the
Association of Konkani Kiwis of
Aotearoa (AKKA) endeavours
to cater to them. AKKA, which
is the only association of
Konkani-speaking Kiwis - was
established in late 2018.
Interestingly, the idea to
have this association was
initiated way back in 2004.
Nitin Kundapur, AKKA’s Vice-
President, gives more details:
“It all started in 2004 in
Auckland where a small group
came together mainly for
Ganesh Utsav.
That was the only time
when families gathered. Most
families are in Auckland,
some in Wellington, and a
handful in Christchurch.
These gatherings went on
for a while, and in 2016 a
need was felt to expand the
group and make it a formal
organisation. That led to the
formation of AKKA.”
There is only one main wing
of the organisation, and it has
a family-based membership
with a very nominal annual fee.
What started with 15 families
in 2016 is now over 40 families
registered with AKKA.
AKKA endeavours to keep
the Konkani spirit alive and
to pass it on to the younger
generation. “Our main aim is to
educate the younger generation
and encourage them to speak
and understand Konkani
and its roots.
The future generation is
evolving fast, and knowledge
of one’s cultural background
Our main aim is to
educate the younger
generation and
encourage them to
speak and understand
Konkani and its roots.
is essential. India is diverse in
many ways, and we need to
provide all possible resources
to the coming generations, so
that ethnic fabric and identity
stay for years to come,”
says Kundapur.
Translating their vision into
action, AKKA organises regular
community gatherings on key
festivals such as Ganesh Pooja,
Choodi Pooja and Diwali. “We
also have our annual sports
meet and family picnics.
Programmes are mainly centred
around Konkani culture, sports
and recreation, performing
arts, etc. The forum is open
to non-members, and all are
welcome/encouraged to join,”
reveals Kundapur.
Kundapur further reveals that
they want more families to
join AKKA and to engage the
younger generation.
“We plan to have more
gatherings and some fun
theme-based events – hiking
trips, Bring a pet event and
more outdoor activities. We
also want to focus on social
media to discuss AKKA and its
work. We want more people to
attend for the effort, and the
expense put into events.”
Lastly, talking about
AKKA plans, Kundapur says
they have reached out to
some international Konkani
organisations and had a very
positive response from Tristate-
US, UK, Dubai, Mangalore-India
and Melbourne.
Moreover, plans to have
virtual Konkani culture classes
are also under way.
“We are also working on
having our online Konkani
School so that we can have a
virtual classroom each month
that will focus on Konkani
speaking, a few songs,
stories in Konkani for kids,”
signs off Kundapur.