The Hindu celebration of Diwali – the festival of lights – lit up Wyndham Vale at the weekend, with more than 26,000 people gathering at Presidents Park.
They enjoyed fireworks and henna art, international cuisine and more than 300 performers.
Wyndham Diwali committee vice-president Srinivas Shesham said the festival was aimed at being an event all residents could enjoy, regardless of their cultural background.
“Even though it’s an Indian festival, we wanted everyone to adopt it as their own,” he said.
SAUMYA JOSHI, SWETHA RAJ AND MEGHNA SANAM TAKE A BREAK FROM PERFORMING
“There are so many different aspects of the festival. We set out to unify the community, to feel close to each other.”
With fond memories of Diwali in India, Mr Shesham said he wanted to bring the pleasant atmosphere he grew up with to Wyndham.
Diwali celebrates the triumph of good over evil. Lalor MP Joanne Ryan said that despite the shock and sadness of last week’s events in Paris and Beirut, the community had come together for the joy of Diwali.
“We want light over darkness, knowledge over ignorance, hope over despair,” Ms Ryan said. “We learn so much about the world when we share our history and our stories.”
Five-thousand lamps were placed on the ground in Presidents Park to form the words ‘Wyndham Diwali’.
This year’s festival supported a social media campaign by Jagriti, a network of agencies, services and individuals, focussing on the issue of family violence in Indian communities.
The Jagriti campaign urged residents to “say no to family violence this Diwali”.
