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

20
NEW ZEALAND
Friday, 7 October, 2022
Celebrating Tamilian ties
Read online www.iwk.co.nz
The Tamil community
in New Zealand has
been doing its bit to
preserve its rich Tamil culture
and heritage in NZ. And that
is why there are over 30 Tamil
associations across NZ in cities
such as Auckland, Wellington,
Christchurch and Dunedin,
among others, that cater to
around 4000 strong Tamil
community members in NZ.
Christchurch-based
Canterbury Tamil Society (CTS)
represents Tamils living in
the Canterbury region and is
actively involved in promoting
the Tamil language and its
cultural values.
Interestingly, CTS came into
being back in the year 1995.
Talking about its history, Suji
Sabapathy, President of CTS,
says, “In 1995 a group of
Tamils lived in Christchurch
region realised the need of
formal representation of Tamils
in the Canterbury region and
CTS is a result of that.
“As a result, the Canterbury
Tamil Society was formed in
1995. It was formed by Malathy
Nagulaswaran, S.Ilanko, S.
Naguleswaran and Tulsi Gopal.”
CTS, which has over 100
members, endeavours to
promote Tamil language
education, culture and
“We mainly focus on
promoting our Tamil language
through our Tamil Language
school, where classes
take place every Saturday
evening. We also make sure
to celebrate special occasions
such as festivals through
traditional dances,
dramas and songs.
sports and foster improved
relationships between the
Tamil community and other
communities in NZ.
On being asked to talk about
the activities/ programmes,
CTS conducts to keep the
Tamil culture and language
alive in NZ? Suji says, “We
mainly focus on promoting
our Tamil language through
our Tamil Language school,
where classes take place every
Saturday evening. We also
make sure to celebrate special
occasions such as festivals
through traditional dances,
dramas and songs.
“Apart from that, we
celebrate Tamil Cultural Events
Such as Thaipongal, Tamil
New Year and Theepavali,
among other festivals, with
full zeal and enthusiasm so
the next generation can learn
and continue our identity.
Our upcoming events in the
calendar are Diwali and our
annual picnic.”
On a parting note, Suji
says that CTS is for whoever
speaks Tamil from anywhere
in the world.
“We are Tamils; we speak
Tamil, we belong to Tamil.
It is important to pass our
culture, our language… our
identity to the next generation.”
Being home to four great Hindu
religious sites – Gangotri,
Yamunotri, Badrinath and
Kedarnath, Uttarakhand is perhaps one
of the most divine states of India.
Described by many as the land of
the Gods, the land – that boasts of
the towering Himalayas, scenic natural
beauty, exotic flora and fauna – lures
everyone from everywhere.
Zealand, numbering some six thousand,
are also doing their bit to ensure their
culture is kept alive in Aotearoa. And
one such organisation which endeavours
to do the same is the Wellington-based
Devbhoomi Association of New Zealand
(DANZ), which has around 600 members
and its body of work.
Giving information about how DANZ
came into being, its media in-charge,
Manas Rawat, says, “Our organisation
came into being in 2016 when some likeminded
people got together who had a
feeling of giving back to the community.
Following the same, a constitution was
drafted, and a non-profitable society
was registered. The first AGM took place
in April 2016.”
Uttarakhand is a very young state but
is a cradle of ancient civilisation, and
each region in the state carries unique
knowledge of art-forms, culture, history,
language and literature.
“The main motive was to preserve
this culture and at the same time share
and learn from others. We also aspire to
spread awareness among our members
to become productive members of our
kiwi community.
"We also work towards acting as a
bridge between the New Zealanders and
Indian diaspora, through finding common
Spreading Uttarakhand’s uniqueness
grounds and activities,” says Rawat.
Apart from celebrating all important
nationall festivals, DANZ holds regular
gatherings to commemorate events
unique to Uttarakhand, such as
‘fool-dehi’, which is marked by kids
collecting flowers and exchanging
them for sweets from the elders.
In 2019 DANZ hosted an event
called ‘Baduli’ where one of the
legendary singers from Uttarakhand
(Padma Shree Awardee) Narendra Singh
Negi performed along with some other
famous artists in Wellington.
The community members also hold
language classes and storytelling
sessions for the kids.
The community members also have
informal career workshops for youth and
act as mentors.
“We also regularly participate in city
council events where we won a koha (Te
reo for a gift) and are closely associated
with the Indian High commission. We
have continuously celebrated ‘Holi’ since
2016, which has been celebrated not
only with colours but also with unique
food and dress from Uttrakhand,” says
Rawat, who feels it is essential to have
cultural organisations in the Kiwi-Indian
community as it helps to preserve the
uniqueness of diversity we hold.
Considering the health situation,
DANZ is planning social activities
in the summer. They will start with
the “master-chef Uttarakhand”
competition, and Diwali celebration is
“The main motive was to
preserve this culture and
at the same time share and
learn from others. We also
aspire to spread awareness
among our members to
become productive members
of our kiwi community. We
also work towards acting
as a bridge between the
New Zealanders and Indian
diaspora, through finding
common grounds and
activities.”
already on the way.
On a parting note, when asked about
the future of the DANZ, Rawat says, “We
want to be involved more in community
work. We want to make the informal
activities we conduct for careers and
other things more structured and
regular. We are actively looking to
make it a registered charitable society
and look for funding from councils for
assistance.”