Mid-Autumn Festival and Diwali were celebrated in front of J Block at Tauranga Girls’ College on 28 October. Diwali is a popular festival in India which celebrates the victory of light over darkness, good over evil, and knowledge over ignorance. The mid-autumn or moon cake festival traditionally celebrates harmony, togetherness and happiness.

Students from the Asian Culture Group dressed up in Indian and Chinese traditional costumes and entertained the Tauranga Girls’ College students with traditional dances and musical performances. This event was like a cultural carnival with four big performances, food stalls, and a Henna (traditional Indian tattoos) stall. Teachers also dressed up in cultural costumes to join in with the celebration. Students decorated the site with lanterns and chalk drawing rangoli on the ground. A group of 15 students performed four traditional items which included Chinese Tai Chi Kung Fu Fan, singing Molihua and Indian solo dance Aaja Nachle, group dance Ajj kal ajj kal. At lunchtime, many students came to watch the performances and experienced the different cultures. Spring rolls and BBQ pork buns were available for students to purchase.

The students that participated in this cultural event were passionate about sharing cultures. These girls practiced every lunch time and after school in their own personal time since Term 3. With the commitment they put into their practice, the performances turned out to be outstanding.

Below are our students’ voices

“I performed Tai Chi Kung Fu. The Chinese performance made me feel more confident and proud because I had the chance to showcase another culture that I was learning about. Performing in front of many people was nerve-racking since I had never performed in front of a crowd that big. This performance helped me enhance my skills in various ways.” (Nandini Saily)

“The celebration is extremely fun and there were lots of audiences. I think we should do it again next year. “

“I think we should celebrate it next year because this is a chance where students can share their culture with the school.”

Performers:

Tai Chi Kung Fu: Nandini Saily, Asmita Pathak, Rachel Song, Hillary Yip, Jiya Dewat, Reece Pohatu

Singing Molihua: Lia Chalmers, Annabel Robinson, Kat Robinson, Charlotte Quilty, Ashana Watene

Indian solo dance Aaja Nachle: Anthea Narayan

Group dance Ajj kal ajj kal: Alisha Mahey, Mehakveer Kaur, Prabhleen Gakhal