Looking forward to welcoming all to a Diwali festival are (from left) Dunedin Indian Association organising committee member Rohit Jain, his son Reyansh Jain, 10, and fellow organising committee member Priyanka Majumdar. PHOTO: SIMON HENDERSON The Dunedin Indian Association hopes more than 1000 people will attend the Dunedin Diwali festival on Saturday, November 9 from 3pm to 8pm at the Edgar Centre. Organising committee member Dr Rohit Jain said Diwali, the festival of light, was a huge annual event in India as well as other countries.
Everyone was invited to enjoy the festival, which would be organised like a fair, allowing people to come and go as they please. Diwali is celebrated by everyone, in much the same way that Christmas brings together various communities in New Zealand. "Irrespective of what caste, creed, religion you belong to, Diwali is for everyone to come and have fun.
" India has a majority Hindu population, but Diwali is also celebrated by other major religions, each for different reasons. For Jains, Diwali is celebrated as the day Lord Mahavir, the last Tirthankara, or ford-maker, attained nirvana, signifying the attainment of complete knowledge and enlightenment. For Sikhs, it commemorates the release of Guru Hargobind and 52 other princes from imprisonment by Emperor Jahangir, symbolising the triumph of freedom and justice.
Hindus celebrate the return of the deity Lord Rama, his brother Lakshmana, and his wife Sita from a 14-year exile, emerging victoriou.