Diwali may have passed but we’re still feeling the afterglow: the murthis (idols) and brass lamps will stick around till the weekend; the fridge is stuffed with mithai, and there’s candle wax that will need to be cleared at some stage this week.
And does that mean the celebrations out there are behind us? No way.
Diwali continues, like every year, well past the actual week, and when India’s External Affairs Minister Dr S Jaishankar visits this week, he might catch a feel of it.
Meanwhile, the community social calendar continues to look full with other events: we have music stars, comedy events, theatre, and books lined up for you this month.
Pick your event(s) from our list below and check out our What’s On listings for more Indian events in November.
And as always, if we’ve missed your event, drop us a line on editor@indianlink.com.au – we’ll be happy to add it here.
DIWALI
In Sydney, the Diwali party to be at, is at the Sydney Opera House this week. It’s going to come out in all its Diwali glory on Tuesday night, so get out there and get your camera ready.
In Melbourne, the Victorian Sikh Association is having its Diwali too– nicely timed after the intimate family event is done and marked with spiritual fervour. Now to bring the shimmering saris out!
If you’re in Brisbane, you can wear your shimmering saris to the special Diwali events at Dreamworld and Warner Bros Movie World.
Sydneysiders will get another chance to enjoy a street festival style celebration – this time at Wentworthville, organised by Cumberland City Council.
BIG TICKET EVENTS
Meanwhile, stars from India’s entertainment industry continue to come down under, and the fans don’t disappoint. This month, it’s the Jaadu hai nasha hai girl – Shreya Ghoshal!
Punjabi readers will pick between not one but two popular singers NINJA and Garry Sandhu (but we know most will land up at both).
Malayali readers would much prefer to take themselves to the KS Harisankar concert, the current musical sensation of the Kerala music industry, and the voice behind the Malayalam version of the Grammy winning Naatu Naatu.
If you prefer traditional folk, devotional and classical, you can get to see all three in one presentation at Melbourne’s Always Live Festival. Indian performer Maithili Thakur will showcase her powerful fusion of all these genres – in English and various Indian languages.
In a welcome novelty, check out the spoken word and poetry event featuring Priya Malik and Yahya Bootwala. Both story tellers and poets, they are internet sensations in India. She’s a self-proclaimed ‘difficult woman’ who ‘doesn’t take it easy or stay silent or whisper her inconveniences into voids of nothingness‘ (her words, not ours). He’s an actor and lyricist with 425K followers, whose poem Shayad woh pyaar nahin stamped him in as new-gen star.
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FOR THE THINKING TYPES
If you like your leisure-time activities to be thought-provoking, then we’ve got you covered.
Get up close with writer, historian and Indophile William Dalrymple who’s currently touring Australia with his acclaimed new work The Golden Road: How Ancient India Transformed the World. A wonderful storyteller, he’ll make you fall in love with India all over again.
Looking for tips for a more awakened life? Then you’ve probably already got your tickets for modern guru and wellbeing specialist Deepak Chopra.
If you (or your kids) grew up Indian in Australia, then get a fresh perspective into your own complexities with writer Aarti Betigeri, who’s currently doing a series of talking events with her own new book called exactly that: Growing Up Indian in Australia.
For the arty types, there’s Sydney-based artist Panchali Sheth’s latest exhibition She Carries All, a study of traditional and modern perspectives to femininity and guardianship.
In a similar redefining of heritage, the show Elsewhere in India (at Sydney’s 4A Centre for Contemporary Asian Art) looks at the manner in which cultural artifacts are presented in public collections, positioning them instead “in a post-colonial, Indofuturist virtual museum.”
ON THE COMMUNITY STAGE
Indian community theatre events are scaling up in November, in a welcome development.
Kudos particularly to the Sydney-based Natak Mandli, led by thespian Dinsha Palkhivala, who have been tackling challenging topics as a means of creating awareness. Their latest offering, in collaboration with the NGO Harman Foundation, cuts deep: based on a true story, Rising From The Ashes looks at the aftermath of a domestic violence homicide two decades on, and the turmoil that continues in the survivors of this horror even as the perpetrator languished in jail.
In a somewhat similar vein, Melbourne play Bandini tells a tale of scars and strength; on the eve of being awarded the highest honour for women’s empowerment, an Indian social worker looks back at her career dealing with injustices against women.
Meanwhile, Sydney’s Prekshaa Arts presents another staging this month of its comedy Hasmukh Saheb Ki Wasihat.
In dance, we have Vishakha Iyer, our community’s most promising dancer, taking up a charitable cause. The Sydney teenager, who has just started her degree in dance at the prestigious Western Australian Academy of Performing Arts WAPA, presents Jagrithi, in aid of local NGO Vision 2020.
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Get out there, folks, and support your local creatives.
If these Indian Australian events this November don’t seem like your cup of chai, there’s plenty more happening around you next month – check out our What’s On section elsewhere on this website.
READ MORE: Vishakha Iyer: Bharatanatyam for my HSC
