On Saturday 20 October Pakenham Hall came alive to celebrate Indian Cultural Festival of Navratri organised by Cardinia Gujarati Association Inc (CGAI).
Navaratri acknowledges the prominent battle that took place between Goddess Durga and the buffalo demon Mahishasura, and in turn celebrates the victory of “good over evil.”
The festival emerged from the Indian state of Gujarat, where members from the community perform folk dancing on the tunes of melodious Gujarati garba (folk) songs.
On the night of the event, there was entertainment, communal prayers for Goddess Durga, live music, garba/dandiya dancing and colourful costumes.
“It was an absolute delight to see more than three hundred attendees from diverse multicultural community backgrounds present to celebrate the vibrant festival originated from their motherland India onto their homeland Australia,” CGAI’s Brijal Parikh said.
“The highlight of the evening was a surprise garba dance performance by a group of female participants residing within the Cardinia community, dressed in radiant traditional garba costumes.
“Mouth-watering Indian Gujarati delicacies were catered through the entire event by Lalabhai Sev Usalwala, a popular eatery from Cranbourne.”
The event was also attended by Jason Wood MP, Pakenham CFA and Pakenham Police.
“Cardinia Gujarati Association Inc. organising committee would like to take this opportunity to convey our sincere gratitude to honourable Mr Jason Wood (MP), CFA Pakenham, Victoria Police Pakenham to dignify the event with their presence and participation.
“The festivity was felt in the air by everyone who were present at the event. CGAI thanks all the performers, singers, musicians, sponsors, Cardinia Shire Council, the wonderful multicultural community of Cardinia Shire and all the volunteers who supported and contributed to the huge success of the event.”
In addition to the celebration, CGAI took the ownership to support the Keralan community in India, which recently experienced an immense natural disaster by donating $1 to Kerala flood relief fund from each ticket sold.
CGAI’s vision is to promote social harmony and multicultural integration by organising social gatherings and cultural events in our fast expanding Cardinia Shire.
Some of the future events that CGAI are planning to organise include sports day, traditional cultural musical nights, dance evenings, yoga, meditation classes as well as engaging with the Australian charitable organisations to enable contributions to the wider Cardinia shire community activities.
Visit CGAI Facebook page for upcoming events and initiatives by searching Cardinia Gujarati Association Inc.
