Dancing for Diwali

Swaroopa Unni, of Dunedin, performs a classical dance describing the sweetness of the Hindu god Lord Krishna during Diwali, or festival of lights, celebrations in Dunedin on Saturday.

About 100 members of Dunedin's Indian community attended the day-long celebrations at the Church of Christ, organised for the seventh year running by IndiaNZ Dunedin.

Event organiser Nayan Padiyar said the day of games, dancing and food aimed to bring young, old and new members of the Indian community together in Dunedin "and keep the culture alive, basically, for the children".

Their group would celebrate Diwali, Christmas and New Year's Eve this year as an "extended family", she said.

"People do enjoy it and have a lot of fun," she said.