As autumn deepens and the air turns crisp, the spotlight is on… the Federal election.
The election roadshow has well and truly hit the town – the buzzwords so far being, quite predictably, “tax cuts”, “cost-of-living pressures”, “Medicare”, “student debt”, “Teal seats”, the slogans “Building Australia’s future” and “Let’s get Australia back on track”, “social media influencers”, “Gen Z voters”, and “Trump”. Indian events April 2025
That last one, raising significant concerns about potential economic downturns and strained international relations, is adding to the uncertainty of it all – over and above voters’ laments about indecision.
Offering a possible escape from this scenario, check out this curated selection of social and cultural events – opportunities perhaps to relax, learn, and be inspired. We hope you’ll find experiences that pique your interest and enrich your after-hours.
If we’ve missed your event, drop us a line at editor@indianlink.com.au – we’ll be glad to add it here.
THE COMEDY CIRCUIT
Melbourne has been welcoming comedy enthusiasts to its annual month-long celebration of wit and humour. The Melbourne International Comedy Festival, on since late March, has some 40 South Asian acts (yes, you read that right!)
Among these are home-grown performers, those from India, and some from the Indian diaspora.
Shoutout here to our Aussie stand-ups Guneet Kaur, Vidya Rajan, Aditya Gautam, Aarti Vincent, Neel Kolhatkar, Delhi Buoy, Abhishek Mishra, Abhishek Panchal, Nazim Hussain, Aaqib Merchant, Anirban Dasgupta, Suren Jayemanne, Nadun Hettiarachchi, Tej Munuganti, Firdi Billimoria, Rao Morusupalli, Suraj Kolarkar, Brown Women Comedy, and NZ’s Advait Kirtikar and Sanjay Patel.
From India, check out Urooj Ashfaq, Azeem Banatwalla, Sumukhi Suresh, Kashyap Swaroop, Rahul Subramanian and Shamik Chakrabarti.
From the diaspora we have Kumar (Malaysia), Nish Kumar (UK), Ankita Ghosh (Vietnam), Ahir Shah (UK), Prakash Daniel (Malaysia), Raul Kohli (UK), and Vivek Mahbubani (Hong Kong, who presents his show in Cantonese). Indian events April 2025
(If we’ve missed you – because there are just so many of you, just like in India as you no doubt say in your material – send in your complaint at the email address above.)
If you’re a Gen Z reader, chances are some – or all – of these names have popped up on your Instagram feed at some stage. If you’re a parent of a Gen Z type, suggest, take yourself along to one of these shows: it could be both entertaining and enlightening, with perspectives that might amaze you or help understand your own young-adult offspring.
Meanwhile, we’re loving the show titles: Have You Tried Turning Comedy Off and On Again? Love Actuary. Aussie Indians Got Latent. Aussie Visa Rejected: Where’s My Visa? Racist Immigrants. Australia’s First Indian Prime Minister. 7-Eleven Attack: The Indians are coming. Indian community events in April 2025
STAGE
The Merchant brothers, musicians Salim and Sulaiman (of hit soundtracks like Chak De India, Rab Ne Bana Di Jodi, Aa Ja Nach Le) come to the Sydney Opera House this month, bringing their particular mix of Bollywood, Sufi, and electronic fusion.
Punjabi readers will like Kulbir Jhinjer (of Soorjan Di Lalli fame), with his traditional Punjabi folk and bhangra intertwined with contemporary genres such as pop and hip-hop.
Meanwhile, if you’re into K-Pop, you might have heard of teen star Mohammad Faiz. Having made his way up from singing reality TV shows, this 16-year-old with stereotypical boy-band looks has amassed a sizable following on Insta and YouTube, and is now touring worldwide, next stop Australia. Indian community events in April 2025
Prefer comedy theatre? Then you’ve probably signed up for touring Indian productions Hai Mera Dil (Hindi) and The Lavari Show (Gujarati). Indian events April 2025
FILM AND ART
The High Commission of India in Canberra will host an Indian Film Festival at Dendy Cinemas, Canberra Centre this month. The two-day program of free screenings includes six films, one each in Hindi, Tamil, Gujarati, Malayalam, Assamese, and Punjabi.
Mumbai artist Rithika Merchant presents her work Terraformation (‘earth-shaping’ or the process of making a planet) at the Asia Pacific Triennial of Contemporary Art in Brisbane this month. Mythology, science, and speculative fiction weave together in her watercolours, to create fantasy new planets, in a statement about our own threatened world.
Meanwhile in Sydney, Nusra Latif Qureshi’s exhibition Birds in Far Pavillions continues at the Art Gallery of New South Wales AGNSW. Bridging historical influences with modern experimentation in her work, Nusra makes poignant reflections on history and identity.
CONVERSATIONS
If something more cerebral is your style, perhaps Jameela Jamil is up your alley – actor, writer and activist (of I Weigh podcast fame) who’s in Australia this month talking about her advocacy in mental health, physical fitness, social justice and climate justice.
Artist Nusra Latif Qureshi joins fellow artist Simryn Gill for a conversation at AGNSW, talking about art, place and history. Indian community events in April 2025
The Brahma Kumaris present Wayfinders: Ordinary People Changing the World to “offer a path to personal and collective transformation (in today’s world) marked by economic challenges, social inequality, and environmental issues.” Expect powerful personal storytelling, inspiring music, and meditation, and experts Dr Julia Baird, Clover Moore, Linda Burney and Jon Owen joining Sister Jayanti of the Brahma Kumaris.
COMMUNITY
April long weekend is a time for many annual meet-ups in the community where large groups congregate from across the country and sometimes New Zealand. A long-standing event is the Australian Sikh Games, in its 37th iteration this year, with Sydney hosting.
Sydney hosts the Marathi community as well this April, in the triennial Akhil Australia Marathi Sammelan, as they celebrate their history, culture, literature and arts, nurturing and promoting their heritage to new generations. Indian events April 2025
Even though Eid has just passed, the large-scale community-level festivities continue. Find one near you, such as the Multicultural Eid Festival in Sydney’s Fairfield Showgrounds.
Baisakhi the northern Indian harvest festival is on this month, and there’s bound to be a celebration near you, such as Sydney’s Harvest Festival in Harris Park.
In other community- and family-level celebrations this month besides Baisakhi, we’re marking Mahavir Jayanti, Ram Navmi, and Easter, and Anzac Day.
Don’t forget also, that daylight saving ends this month on the 6th. Move your clocks back an hour (going by that old reminder Spring forward, Fall back. IYKYK!)
Happy April!
For more Indian events in April 2025, head to our What’s On section.
