Let’s begin with giving you a brief introduction of how we built a family of 207 people at our Indian Auckland meetup on Sunday.

It is said that the real champions fight through adversities. Rohit Sharma, who helped almost 160 people get back home to New Zealand from India, is one of those champions. Sharma who went to India in March 2020, was one of the many permanent residents (PR), migrant workers and citizens of New Zealand who got stranded in India due to Covid-19.

Onam is the annual harvest festival of Kerala and is celebrated for 10 days. According to the Gregorian calendar, the festival falls in the months of August-September as Malayalees all over the world unite and partake in the celebrations.

Aucklanders will have more ways to celebrate Diwali this year, with the Auckland Diwali Festival set to be held at multiple locations across the Auckland region. The Auckland Diwali Festival will now be celebrated over three weeks, from 27 October to 14 November, at various community venues. The revised festival will enhance the current community-based programme with additional features that may include film nights, cooking classes, and workshops.

Shanti Niwas Charitable Trust Inc. celebrated India’s 74th Independence Day along with its members, community leaders and dignitaries on the online portal zoom, following the restrictions put under alert Level-3 lockdown in Auckland. More than 100 people participated in an hour and half, long programme.

Dr Sandhya Ramanatha, General Practitioner in Grey Lynn, Auckland, has become a social media sensation in the last two months where she shared an eighteen-minute-long video of home medical management plan for treating mild COVID-19.

India Independence Day, August 15, celebrations across New Zealand and Pakistan Independence Day, August 14, celebrations across New Zealand.

On August 17, the Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi greeted Indians on the occasion of Malayalam New Year. Tweeting in both Malayalam and English, the PM said, “As the month of Chingam commences, my greetings to everyone, especially my Malayali sisters and brothers. I pray that the coming year brings with it success, good health and prosperity for all.”

On this day, we celebrate ancient India – one of the oldest and richest civilisations - and her significant contributions on the global stage. We also celebrate modern India – the largest functioning democracy that has made significant economic and industrial progress over the last several years.

The celebrations to commemorate the birth of Lord Krishna, believed to be the eight incarnation of Lord Vishnu as per Hindu faith, known as ‘Janmashtami’ took place all over the globe. The festival of Janmashtami is celebrated every year on the eighth day or Ashtami of Krishna Paksha in the month of Shravan or Bhadrapad as per Hindu calendar.

National List MP based in Manukau East, Kanwaljit Singh Bakshi, with his rakhi sister and fellow MP Melissa Lee, who is of Korean origin; and New Zealand First’s former List MP, Mahesh Bindra, with his rakhi sister and fellow party colleague, Minister of Internal Affairs Tracy Martin.

Looking ahead, we understand a number of airlines have received approval for repatriation flights from India to Europe which may begin to open up options for New Zealanders wishing to return home…Ongoing measures to smooth the demand include the introduction of a rolling two-week quota on the number of people airlines can return to New Zealand.

The Governor-General of New Zealand Dame Patsy Reddy on Wednesday appointed Jennifer Khan-Janif as Member of New Zealand Order of Merit (MNZM) for services to refugee and migrant communities.

“I came to India to get married. I have been living in New Zealand for more than six years. It is home for me now. I haven’t heard anything from New Zealand Immigration on an approximate date for my return.”

Last week, Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern visited the Papatoetoe Foodhub with Labour's candidate in Manurewa, Arena Williams.

“Indian migrants contribute significantly to the New Zealand economy by choosing New Zealand as a migration destination. To continue to promote New Zealand and in the interest of fairness to current migrants, we request that the following be considered and addressed by your office:

With no Vande Bharat Mission and Air NZ flights scheduled as of now, Kiwis – citizens and PRs - stuck in India are looking towards their Government to give them a time-frame by which they will be allowed to board a charter flight and come back home. We highlight their plight.

As part of the world’s largest evacuation exercise undertaken by the Government of India (GOI), which till now has brought over half a million Indians safely back to India, the New Zealand leg of Vande Bharat Mission (VBM) finished on July 3. In total, over the course of just over a month, the leg which started on June 7, took 1,650 Indians stranded in New Zealand back home, covered across 10 flights. Nine were flown by Air India, and one was a private charter.

Organised by the Facebook group New Zealanders United to Save the Indian Constitution, a small group of protestors gathered on Sunday at Auckland’s Aotea Square, to highlight what they called “arrest and intimidation by instruments of the State of journalists, activists and students”.

“I’m proud Labour has candidates like Dr Gaurav Sharma who is prepared to put his hand up to represent his constituency. As I said at the beginning of the year Labour is focused on running a positive and inclusive campaign. We have fantastic Indian candidates such as Priyanca Radhakrishnan, Baljit Kaur and Dr Sharma who I am hopeful will join our team in Parliament after the election,” PM said.

Back home in Telangana too, the current Chief Minister K Chandrashekhar Rao launching the celebrations, acknowledged Rao’s contribution “in building the nation and erstwhile state of Andhra Pradesh in particular”. PM Modi, in his monthly Mann Ki Baat radio show added, “His rise from a very simple background, emphasis on education, tendency to learn, and leadership ability - everything is memorable. He also raised his voice against injustice from an early age. I pay my tribute to him.”

The first purpose built Hindu temple in New Zealand, Bharatiya Mandir (Indian Temple Inc.) at Balmoral in Sandringham, Auckland, celebrated its 27th year anniversary from Friday June 26, to Sunday June 28. It is the most important annual event in the Mandir’s calendar, and is celebrated in the last weekend of month of June, every year for three days.

“Over the last three days our volunteers have been hard at work putting New Zealand Labour Party signs up across the town. This morning we found out that one lovely Hamiltonian was harassed and verbally abused by two sets of people for having signs supporting ‘a curry candidate’”.

In a path-breaking story for Indians in New Zealand, and around the world, New Zealand international, Sarpreet Singh, made his starting eleven debut for Bayern Munich in Bundesliga on Saturday. Starting the match, Singh guarded Munich’s midfield along with his team-mates Leon Goretzka, Michaël Cuisance, and Thomas Müller.

The second flight of Air India took off from Auckland airport with 217 Indians.

The motion read, “This house congratulate the New Zealand Sikh community and the Supreme Sikh Society, who have distributed more than 25,000 food parcels across New Zealand to assist more than 100,000 people in their time of need throughout the COVID-19 lockdown period.”

Narender Reddy, President of TANZ informed, “We divided the attendees in two batches, which attended the festivities from 5 to 6 pm, and then from 7 to 8pm, on June 6.

Counties Manukau Police are appealing for witnesses to a fatal crash involving a vehicle and pedestrian in Papatoetoe on Monday. The incident occurred at around 3.40pm on Monday, June 8, on Great South Road near Hunters Corner Plaza. Police can now name the man as Gurmej Singh Lally, aged 87, of Papatoetoe.

Finally, there is some good news for New Zealanders stuck in South India, who for months have been trying to find a way back home. The New Zealand Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade has posted an update today afternoon about “a chartered aircraft will be travelling between India and New Zealand in mid-June”.

For the first time, a band of musicians from the North Island known as Moksha Base, and Dunedin Tamil Society (DTS) joined hands to organise a Facebook Live musical concert on May 23. Called Puthiya Jananam, the event was a live jam session with singers Ayesha, Anjali and Maathangi from Moksha Base.