Sydney Opera house lights up for Deepavali

Deepavali SOH_small

 

 

Opera House celebrates Deepavali (Pic  courtesy   Premier Baird’s Office)

 

The sails of the Sydney Opera House have turned a vibrant orange and yellow during an event hosted by NSW Premier Mike Baird and Minister for Citizenship and Communities Victor Dominello in celebration of the Hindu festival of light, Deepavali.

Deepavali SOH_manju 1

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Kumud Merani, NSW Premier Mr Bruce Baird and  Minister for Citizenship and Communities Mr Victor Dominello (Pic by Manju Mittal)  

 

Mr Baird and Mr Dominello were joined by Multicultural NSW Chair and prominent member of the Indian community, Dr Hari Harinath, to mark the occasion.

“This is 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.

“The sails of the Opera House lit up as Mr Dominello and Dr Harinath joined me to light a traditional diya, a ceremonial lamp in Hindu culture that signifies the lifting of spiritual darkness and the renewal of life.

“Deepavali is celebrated across the world. This special event has been 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 NSW Government celebrates cultural and religious diversity and it’s through events such as these that we can learn and understand more about each other’s backgrounds.”

Mr Dominello said the State’s South Asian community was made up of over 200,000 people who now call Australia home.

Deepavali SOH_manju

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Pallavi Sinha, Neena Sinha, Sonia Gandhi, Manju Mittal and Dr Prabhat Sinha (Pic by Manju Mittal)

“Deepavali has been celebrated for centuries across the Indian subcontinent and many thousands of people from this region now call NSW home.

Deepavali SOH_mala

 

 

 

 

 

 

Sheba Nandkeolyar, Astha Singh and Mala Mehta at the lighting ceremony of Sydney Opera House (Pic by Astha Singh)

“People from India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Nepal, Sri Lanka as well as South East Asia have brought with them the rich traditions of Deepavali and we appreciate the positive contributions they’ve made to our multicultural society,” he said.

deepavali - soh rekha

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Community loving it that Sydney Opera House got lit to celebrate Deepavali – Vish Viswanathan, NSW Liberal MP Matt Kean, Pallavi Sinha, Rekha Rajvanshi, NSW Premier Mike Baird, Neena Sinha, Sheba Nandkeolyar, Astha Singh and Dr Prabhat Sinha

The Sydney Opera House will remain lit in Deepavali colours for one night only until midnight on Tuesday 21 October with the support of the NSW Government.

NSW Parliament House was lit up simultaneously and will remain lit each night until

Wednesday 5 November, when the Premier hosts a Deepavali event at Parliament House.

Short URL: https://indiandownunder.com.au/?p=3962