MELBOURNE, 13 January 2024: Lohri serves as a jubilant Punjabi festival, symbolising the bountiful crops like sugarcane, groundnut, and radish. Lohari, is the harvest festival of Punjab and remains popular in the Diaspora.
It holds particular significance for farmers as it coincides with the flourishing of crops in the fields. It serves as a jubilant harvest festival. For the Punjabi Diaspora, mostly coming from farming communities, it is a prominent festival observed each year on 13 January, along with ‘Makarsakranti’ on 14 January and Pongal.
The Punjabi and non-Punjabi crowd at the Australian-Indian Community Centre,Rowville was no exception to the furore and gaiety associated with the celebrations, a potpourri of Punjabi dances, music and food.
The various stalls sold toys, jewellery, garments, hampers, chicken tikka, Nepalese food, laced with endless gossips and networking.
There were a few speeches including from Bwe Thay, Deputy Chairperson, Victorian Multicultural Commission, who praised Lohari as a festival that unites the Punjabi community with others. He was happy to see the variety of stalls reflecting the vibrance of the festival.
Organised by the Punjabi Club of Victoria, the traditional bonfire was lit, surrounded by people throwing Revadi, popcorn, and peanuts into the fire. Later it was distributed to those present as ‘prasad’.
Paramjit Jaswal and his team gave the community a well organised and lively festival. The evening was full of joy and entertainment.
