I recently had the pleasure of joining our Victorian Indian, Sri Lankan and Tamil communities in celebrating Diwali. This Festival of Lights symbolises the victory of good over evil and the enduring belief that knowledge supersedes ignorance. As always, I was touched by the warm hospitality and welcome that I received. I would like to express my gratitude to president Dr Usha Rani Gullapalli of the Hindu Society of Victoria for a kind invitation to the Deepavali festival at the Shiva Vishnu temple. I was also delighted to attend the Tamil Vizhuthugal Deepavali celebrations, and I thank president Melwin Singaram and his team for organising what was an incredible display of Tamil heritage and culture.
Last month it was wonderful to celebrate Deepavali with the Tamil Senior Citizens Benevolent Society, and just last weekend I visited again to celebrate the great work this organisation have done over the years at their 10th anniversary. I send them my sincere congratulations and know they will do wonderful work over the coming decades. Thank you to Shanthy, Meha and Sam and the organising committee for the service they provide in bringing our community together and being active participants in promoting Tamil culture.
On another matter, it was great to lend a helping hand at Brentwood Kindergarten’s Bunnings sausage sizzle. I was happy to play my part in supporting the incredible work that our amazing early childhood educators do.
Finally, it was an honour to attend the Australia and New Zealand Association of Physicians of Pakistani Origin’s AGM. I would like to congratulate the incoming executive and thank Dr Muhammad Shahbaz for his kind invitation. It was inspiring to learn of the work that they do in supporting young Pakistani medical students.
