Hutt South MP Ginny Andersen, centre, releases the stamp commemorating the second Punjabi Language Week celebrations in Wellington. Pictured here with members of the Punjabi Women’s Association. – Photo: Stuff/Supplied
By Arvind Kumar and Harjinder Singh Basiala | New Zealand |
Covid restrictions did not deter New Zealand’s Sikh community coming together to celebrate the second Punjabi Language Week in style at the weekend.
While the celebrations were relatively subdued in Auckland because the city was in level 3.2, the main activities took place in Wellington, which enjoyed greater freedom in level two.
Close to 100 attendees gathered at the Wellington Library theatre for a day of engagement including language activities, traditional Punjabi dance (giddha), Bollywood dances, and presentations by community leaders.
The highlight of the language week, November 22-28, was the release of commemorative postage stamps by New Zealand Post to mark the occasion.
In Wellington, the first stamp was released by Hutt South MP Ginny Andersen and Durgadas, the first secretary at the Indian High Commission, while the second one was released by Rakesh Naidoo, the first Indian-origin Superintendent of Police, and Abdul Malik, the former Pakistan High Commissioner.
The stamps, adorned with the dupatta (traditional head cover of Punjabi women) of Phulkari, features colours of India and Pakistan, the Punjabi language script “Gurmukhi” and the Pakistani Punjabi script “Shahmukhi”.
The stamp – designed by Navneet Kaur Varaich, Karminder Kaur and Sarab Gurmeet Kaur – features an open door indicating that there are no borders for the Punjabi language.
Organised by the Wellington Punjabi Women’s Association, the event attracted scores of children participating in person or online via videos promoting the Punjabi language.
Read the full story, ‘Punjabis celebrate language week with commemorative postage stamp release’, (Stuff, 3 Dec 2021), here.
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