Two upcoming events are hoping to bring the community together through education and celebration.
The South Asian Association of Simcoe County (SAASC), which is a local non-profit organization launched in 2010 to help promote cross-cultural education and offer a platform to connect people with local services to enrich the lifestyle of the South Asian community within the region, is hosting two important cultural celebrations this month, starting with an event called Karva Chauth over two days on Oct. 11 and 12.
“This is the first time ever celebrated in Barrie at this scale,” SAASC president Sangita Madan told BarrieToday.
Karva Chauth is a celebration of love and marriage between a husband and wife, and is typically observed by married women in the Hindu and Sikh cultures in India, where they fast starting at sunrise and pray for the well-being and longevity of their husbands, she explained.
“During the day, the women gather for the day, do henna. … It was more of a sister bond-type thing, whereas now it’s become a festival like this,” Madan said.
The women then take part in a small ritual, called a pooja, where they pray to God, she added. Once the moon rises, the women are able to break their fast. Unmarried women are also able to participate, who instead pray to find a suitable partner.
Although Karva Chauth has been observed locally over years, it’s typically been done by a small group of women in one another’s homes, Madan said, noting next week’s event, which is being held at North Barrie United Church on Ferndale Drive, will be the first time SAASC has hosted it.
“My mom is the one who actually performs the religious ritual — the pooja — that they do, so I have been doing it for the past 10 or 11 years years,” she added.
Throughout the course of promoting other events through the SAASC, Madan told BarrieToday she and her fellow board members have had the opportunity to meet more people within the South Asian community, and felt it made sense to host a larger event where people can gather and celebrate together.
“This particular (event) just got bigger and bigger. The community is just growing, so even though we’ve been doing this in smaller groups, this will be our first annual one at this scale,” she said.
“In India, women take the day off or they’re not working. We are doing the same type of idea, but it will be over (the span) of two nights. On the 11th, we will gather ladies where they can get henna, and enjoy some music, games, and food and just get ready for the next day, which is the actual Karva Chauth day… where all the ladies gather to do that ritual.”
On Friday, Oct. 21, the SAASC will be taking over the Southshore Centre, where it will host its 11th annual Diwali Gala - Festival of Lights, which Madan noted is open to anyone in the community interested in attending.
“Diwali is basically like our Christmas and New Year's all rolled into one,” she explained. “We love to share our culture with everyone around and show how we celebrate these holidays.
"We try to show how we do it back home. Diwali is one of the biggest festivals that is celebrated in India (and) the Diwali Gala is like going to a wedding reception. There’s food, music, performances and it’s a celebration.”
Promoting South Asian culture through these types of events, Madan added, is an important way to not only educate the larger community about their culture, but to also help bring people of all backgrounds together to share in their joy.
“I was born and raised in Canada, but I was very blessed being able to be around my culture. It’s a rich culture and we are all about multiculturalism. When I moved to Barrie, I didn’t see a whole lot of that, and that’s not just the South Asian culture, that was all cultures,” she said.
“We are just very proud of our culture, proud of our festivals and we want to share that. Over the years, we have seen such a great response. People are so interested in learning and the biggest (reason) we are sharing this is it’s more for the understanding and the education of what different cultures are all about.”
For more information about either events, including tickets, click here.
