Sydney Opera House to light up for Deepavali !
Finally the wish of the local Indian community has been granted. Last year Shubha and Aksheya Kumar of India Club had sent a request for the Sydney Opera House to be lit on Diwali night. Unfortunately their request on part of the local Indian community was too late to result in proper action. But Kumar couple’s drive overwhelmingly backed and mobilised by the Indian community finally has come to fruition as sails of Sydney Opera House light up on the occasion of Deepavali this year on October 21.
Although Deepavali is on October 23 as per the Hindu calendar Sydney Opera house will be lit just for one night which is October 21 whereas the NSW Parliament house will be lit from October 21 – November 5 celebrating the spirit of Deepavali. It will be nice that everyone from the Indian community joins in to celebrate Deepavali along with Premier Baird who will be lighting the ceremonial lamp with CRC Chairperson Dr G K Harinath.
Dr. Harinath who is the the current chairperson of CRC surely pushed to get India and Indians into focus with the government and hence the lighting of Opera house has brought a smile and a light on everyone’s face.
And of course Modi’s visit has gotten everyone charged something that has never happened before. The community, governments – local, state and federal and politicians, leaders of the community are all preparing for Prime Minister Modi who visits Australia in November.
NSW Premier Mike Baird announced on October 16 that the sails of the Sydney Opera House will be lit up in celebration of the Hindu festival of light, Deepavali.
Mr Baird said the sails will light up on the evening of Tuesday 21 October during an event attended by Minister for Citizenship and Communities, Victor Dominello, and Multicultural NSW Chair and prominent member of the Indian community, Dr Hari Harinath.
“This will be the first time the Opera House has been lit up in celebration of Deepavali, the festival of light celebrated by the global Hindu community,” Mr Baird said.
“Deepavali is celebrated across the world. This special event will be held for the Hindu community of NSW, which makes a valuable contribution to our multicultural society.
“This festival has been embraced by Australians of all backgrounds and is one of many cultural and religious celebrations that take place every year across NSW.
“The sails of the Opera House will light up when Mr Dominello and Dr Harinath join me in lighting a diya, a ceremonial lamp in Hindu culture that signifies the lifting of spiritual darkness and the renewal of life.
“To see Sydney’s world famous icon awash in colour is an incredible sight and I would encourage everyone to head to the Sydney Harbour foreshore to witness this event.”
Mr Dominello said the State’s South Asian community was made up of over 200,000 people who now call Australia home.
“Deepavali has been celebrated for centuries across the Indian subcontinent and NSW is today proudly home to many thousands of people from across its diaspora.
“People from India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Nepal, Sri Lanka as well as South East Asia have brought with them the rich tradition of Deepavali and we appreciate the positive contributions they’ve made to our multicultural society,” he said.
The Sydney Opera House will be lit up just after 8pm for one night only until midnight on Tuesday 21 October with the support of the NSW Government.
NSW Parliament House will light up simultaneously and will remain lit each night until Wednesday 5 November in support of the Deepavali festival.
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