Bright colours, dancing and sound filled Wendouree’s Cooinda Centre on Saturday as the community gathered together to celebrate the festival of lights.
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The Diwali event, run by the Ballarat Indian Association in its 10th year, incorporated everything from children’s activities and Bollywood dancing workshops to stage performances displaying traditional dances from around the world.
Ballarat Indian Association’s Pradush Narayan said Diwali was one of the main celebrations in India, which brought people together.
“Diwali is the festival of light and there are a lot of other celebrations we do every year, but Diwali is the main one because it is celebrated all over India,” he said.
“When we talk about festival of light, we are enlightening ourselves and also we are [coming out] from the darkness of our sorrows.”
Mr Narayan likened Diwali in India to new year, where people remember the story of Ramayana in which Lord Rama rescued his wife by killing Demon King Ravana and bringing joy to the people.
“Though India is diverse with different culture and different states, when we talk about Diwali they are all united,” Mr Narayan said.
“Diwali is not only about India, it’s about other nations – Nepal, Sri Lanka, Thailand, China, Diwali is celebrated all over the world.”
The Ballarat Indian Association has emphasised the multicultural nature of Diwali by bringing a diverse cultural program to the stage, including Chinese, Nepalese, Malaysian and Sri Lankan performances.
The performances also included the Mumbai-based ‘dhol’, Bollywood from Delhi, and dancing from the south of India.
“It’s very much joyful (to share culture and traditions),” Mr Narayan said.
“The people living in regional (areas) always need to go to Melbourne to enjoy all those events, so when we have this program in Ballarat they feel that they are at home.”