UGADI Festival

Ladies and Gentlemen, I greet you in the languages of the realm of New Zealand - English, Maori, Cook Island Maori, Niuean and Tokelauan.

Kia Ora, Kia Orana, Fakalofa Lahi Atu, Taloha Ni

Greetings: Your Holiness Sri Shivamurthy Murugha Sharanaru, Basava Kendra, Chitradurga, Karnataka State; Your Excellency Mr KP Ernest, High Commissioner of India for New Zealand; Dr Lingappa Kalburgi, President, New Zealand Kannada Koota Inc; Professor Vamanamurthy, Advisor and Past president, New Zealand Kannada Koota Inc; Lindsey Ren, Chandribhai Daji Pasaia, Ladies and Gentlemen.

Thank you for the invitation to attend tonight's UGADI Festival.

This is not only a wonderful, colourful cultural event, but it is also an opportunity to connect with members of New Zealand's Karnataka community.

Many here will have seen the media coverage last week on New Zealands 2006 Census results which confirmed that our country has indeed become  a culturally diverse country, and that the definition of what it means to be a New Zealander is rapidly changing.

Groups termed ethnic minorities are gaining a stronger presence and consequently are having an ever more distinct voice in our mainstream cultures.

Asian communities were most notable in their growth. They are now the third largest major ethnic group, and make up 9.2 percent of the total population.

Among Asians, the fastest growing group are Indians. Today, there are more than 104,000 New Zealanders who identify with Indian communities - an increase of nearly 70 percent since the last Census.

This figure alone clearly has implications for the general community.

Auckland revealed itself as an even more diverse city than perhaps any of us had expected. Almost one in five Aucklanders identify with one or more Asian ethnic groups and more than a third of Aucklanders were born overseas.

This diversity is influencing what it means to be a New Zealander. More than ever before, New Zealand culture is defined by the rich and colourful tapestry of our diverse migrant heritage.

If managed properly, this change will only enhance the pride we all take in living in New Zealand.

We see our changing face reflected not just in our newspapers, but in many aspects of New Zealand life.

We see it in our education system and in the ethnicities of our top sports-people and leaders. We see it in our churches, in our work-places and on our streets.

We experience it through our calendar of festivals, particularly in Auckland. Today, Chinese New Year, the Diwali Festival of Lights and Makara Shankranti are celebrated alongside St Patrick's Day, Waitangi Day and Easter Friday.

It is this demonstration of diversity that brings us here today, with the UGADI Festival, the day it is said that Lord Brahma began creation.

Though UGADI is currently a lesser-known New Year celebration amongst New Zealanders than the Chinese New Year or Diwali, the increasing influence of the South Indian community will undoubtedly change that over time.

I am pleased to be advised that there are around 400 Karnataka families living in New Zealand and 80 percent of them live in Auckland.

That you make a positive contribution to New Zealand should not be a surprise to anyone given that you hail from the locality of what is widely known as the Silicon Valley of India.

The skills in information technology and bio-technology that have been brought from India are invaluable. It is pleasing to see that in such a short time, that a positive contribution has been made to your chosen home.

There are, of course, many adaptations you will have made in choosing to live in New Zealand. Most notably for our purposes today, you have had to adapt to opposite seasons.

While UGADI heralds the beginning of Spring in Karnataka, in New Zealand we are welcoming Autumn.

Fortunately, courtesy of our fruit and vegetable importers, those who are celebrating UGADI still have access to mangoes - the traditional food of this Festival.  I am looking forward to seeing if there will be Ugadi Pachhadi and Bevu Bella being served.

After all, while being prepared to embrace a new life in a new country, it is equally important that we nurture those things that make each of our cultures unique in the world.

Being able to celebrate UGADI - albeit in a New Zealand Autumn - with as many of the traditional elements as possible (like food) is one important way to keep culture alive here.

I believe New Zealanders - both new and established - are beginning to recognise that in choosing to live in New Zealand, we do not also need to choose between two disparate cultures.

We can live most happily in New Zealand if we maintain a strong connection to our cultures of origin, while embracing the positives of a Kiwi lifestyle.

I know my own parents were determined that their New Zealand born children would be brought up with a strong sense of our Indian and Fiji heritage. And my wife and I have worked hard to honour that in our own lives, and in raising our own children.

This is where New Zealand's strength lies for the future.  I encourage each of you to embrace your life in this country, while maintaining a strong connection with the culture, traditions and language of Karnataka and Andhra.  

I see evidence of this in tonight's celebration of UGADI. I congratulate all of you who have been involved in preparing this celebration today.

Your commitment to your own heritage is what helps make New Zealand the harmonious, tolerant and culturally vibrant country that it has become.

I began speaking in all the New Zealand realm languages.  May I close by speaking in Maori issuing greetings and wishing you good health and fortitude in your endeavours.

No reira, tena koutou, tena koutou, kia ora koutou katoa