INDIA NEWS
July 1-15, 2022 - Vol 2, Issue 24
COMMUNITY NEWS
ICAQ and BMM participate in Multicultural Australia’s Luminous Lantern Parade By Amrita Deshpande
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very year, Brisbane City Council and Multicultural Australia organise a Lantern Parade to welcome new immigrants and refugees and celebrate the Queensland Day. This year also, Brisbane sparkled in beautiful lights to welcome the new immigrants and refugees settled in Brisbane. Organisations in Brisbane, which work with immigrants, associations that are established in Brisbane by these immigrants, and councils that work with the immigrants and businesses that support the multicultural community, all participate and walk in the yearly parade. Some organisations create their own lanterns while others dress in their traditional attire, dance,
play music, or simply participate with placards in their hands, welcoming the new immigrants and refugees as well as celebrate the multicultural community in Brisbane. The parade, which was a completely inclusive event and much loved by Brisbanites, was led by government officials Hon Ms. Leanne Linnard MP, and Governor General Her Excellency Ms. Jeannette Young, who extended their support to the multicultural community in Queensland, helping them celebrate the Queensland Day.
assigned the Elephant Lantern, specially created for the ICAQ. The lanterns were designed and created by the community in Lismore, NSW. Members of the ICAQ were at first reluctant to carry the Elephant Lantern as it seemed too heavy, however once the parade started everyone forgot how heavy it was. Also, two volunteers, Amal and Aarpit Singh, helped carry the Elephant Lantern, besides the parade organisers also appointing
one person for the same. Together the ICAQ team and Brisbane Maharashtra Mandal team, comprising of ICAQ President, Mr. Parminder Singh, Secretary of ICAQ and President of Brisbane Maharashtra Mandal Mr. Ganesh Deshpande, along with spouse Sonal Deshpande, Public Relations Officer of ICAQ, President of Watercolour Society of Queensland Inc, Secretary of Brisbane Maharashtra Mandal Mrs. Amrita Deshpande, and
Indrani Ganguly, prominent Indian community member and author, walked the entire parade with the Elephant Lantern, which looked beautiful and amazed the onlookers. Following the parade, the participants, officials, and community leaders and members all enjoyed the world music concert showcasing the culture, the dances and music of migrant population living in Brisbane.
The Indian Council of Australia, Queensland Inc (ICAQ), a newly formed non-profit organisation, participated for the first time in the yearly parade. They were
ICAQ, BMM jointly host yoga event in Brisbane
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he International Yoga Day in Brisbane, a collaboration between Art Of Living Foundation, Indian Council Of Australia, Qld, and Brisbane Maharashtra Mandal, was organised in Brisbane on June 26. The day was filled with good spiritual vibes, giving everyone the sense of harmony and peace. President of Indian Council of Australia, Mr. Parminder Singh, in his address to the participants of yoga day, expressed his gratitude to the supporting organisations as well as the participants for giving the newly formed organisation
the opportunity to collaborate and celebrate the yoga day. He said, “ICAQ thanks Hon. Counsul Mrs Archana Singh, AOL coordinator Mrs. Seema Lathkar, and Mrs. Parul Patel, for having faith in ICAQ, a newly formed peak body for Indians, organisations and Individuals associated with India, to collaborate on this event.” He also thanked His Excellency Mr. ManpreetVohra, for endorsing the event and sending 30 T-shirts to ICAQ which were given to volunteers helping on this
event. He further said, “ICAQ believes in equality, respect, and collaboration while executing any event with our members. We are here to support noble causes which will assist community's wellbeing.” Brisbane Maharashtra Mandal also supported ICAQ on this event by recruiting volunteers and promoting the event to its members and other connected community organisations. The International Yoga Day (IYD) 2022 theme was “Yoga for Humanity and Peace”, and India
has successfully spread yoga to various countries around the world. This soft power has put India in the daily conversations of local people in many countries that practice yoga and celebrate it on June 21, the solstice day. This year, Indians living in Australia along with Australians celebrated this day in a big way. Not just one, but many events were organised in Brisbane, Queensland to celebrate the 2022 International Yoga Day. The Indian community thanks the councillors, government officials, High Commissioner of India in Canberra, and the local community organisations for their efforts in supporting as well as organising these yoga events.
Yoga is the complete cleansing, healing, training and maintaining process for the mind, the soul and the body. The UN has recognised this tradition of yoga and given it the necessary status, recognising its benefits towards developing a stable mind, healthy body, and becoming the spiritually librated soul. Amrita Deshpande, PRO, ICAQ
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