An Indian link at Community Safety Day

The City of Armadale’s annual Community Safety Day had a wonderful Indian link this year. It partnered with the Piara Waters Punjabi Club to successfully launch ‘Piara Masala’, a fun-filled community safety awareness day last month.
True to its name, the event witnessed a celebration of Indian culture including a fusion of Bollywood beats, Indian cuisines, kids’ performances, entertainment, giveaways and games. This was an opportunity for locals to meet their local Canning Vale police, Kidsafe, fire rangers, enjoy the puppet show organised by Constable Care and learn about the various services available in the community.

On the whole, it was a day of great family entertainment on the lawns of the Piara Waters Pavillion.
Launched for the first time, this free event turned out to be great way for the Indian community to interact with the wider mainstream.

Talking to Indian Link, Raj Rajpaul Sandhu, President and Co-ordinator of Piara Masala remarked, “Most often, community events are exclusively conducted for only their respective members. That way, they look isolated from the wider community. But Piara Masala is our way of showing our integration into this beautiful Australian community by involving the emergency service representatives and local Aboriginal groups.”

The event kickstarted with the Mungart Yonga dance group to the rhythmic tunes of the Didgeridoo. Paul observed that this is our way of honouring the native Indigenous people of this land.

Hundreds of local residents flocked in to witness an array of creative fun events to keep their kids entertained. With face painting, a garden space ship ride, bubble blowing and garden games, there were lots of activities to keep the little ones busy. Naresh Shah, an active organiser of the show, added that this this event truly offered a holistic approach to community building by including a display of talents in Punjabi music, dances and promoting concepts of healthy lifestyle. “We are big believers in giving back to the community,” he said.

This was an opportunity also for many non-profit and small and medium business organisations to promote their work.
The local community was able to experience some popular Indian entertainment live with musical groups and artists performing on stage. “People love the distinctive Indian music with its heavy beats and foot tapping numbers,” added Sharon Bal, another key organiser.
The main highlight of the day was its focus on community safety. For that, ambulance tours, health assessments, CPR demonstrations, home safety advice and car restraint fitting sessions were held free of cost. Yaz Mubarakai, MLA Jandakot presented awards and goodies to the winners in various categories. 
For those looking to buy homes, young parents enquiring about upcoming day care options in the area or parents of adolescents trying to get their kids to be physically active through sports, there were various stalls with successful, qualified people from the respected industries waiting to interact with customers and offer solutions. This definitely looked like one promising event offering a variety of services.
With their debut launch receiving a big bang round of applause, Piara Masala has indeed stolen everyone’s hearts and is sure to emerge bigger next year. Kudos to the team for pro-actively placing community interests above their own.