The Nepalese Association of Wiltshire (NAW) invited the Swindon community to join them in celebrating the upcoming Nepali New Year.
An evening of celebrations for the New Year was held by the NAW at the Punjabi Community Centre in Gorse Hill.
Known to the Nepalese as Navavarsha, Nepali New Year takes place this year on Thursday, 14 April. It is the first day of Baisakh on the Hindu Bikram sambat calendar. This month, the Nepalese community will be celebrating the beginning of the year 2079.
The NAW event's attendance was somewhere within the region of 350 people, and the association had an extensive special guest list, after having invited some important members of the Swindon community.
Some of these special guests included the Mayor and Mayoress of Swindon, some of the town's councillors and representatives from the Wiltshire Community Foundation, the RAF, the Swindon Hindu Temple and the Swindon Shri Guru Nanak Gurdwara.
President of the NAW, Mr Gyan Prasad Gurung said: "This event was held to not only celebrate the new year, but our culture and our community. We started the Nepalese Association of Wiltshire in 2006 and when it began, we had a small number of members. Now, we have a large number of members - our association has really grown.
“We want to integrate our community within Swindon and we want to live side by side with all the other communities within the town. Our association’s aim is to encourage more women and children within the community to join and become a key part of the group.
"We try to put on a whole host of different activities to ensure everyone can join and help out, no matter their age. We want to teach our younger generation what we are about, and where we come from. That is why we like to host mixed events where anyone of any age can attend.
“We also encourage different uniforms and different family groups to come together and celebrate our association and culture.”
The function room was decorated with a stage area towards the front. Mr Prasad Gurung, took on the role of MC. He delivered a speech and introduced the events of the evening.
Mayor of Swindon, Garry Perkins said: "It’s wonderful that this event has been held on a larger scale this year, after a three year hiatus due to covid. I was thrilled to have another invite this year, for what is always an entertaining evening.
“It’s great that the Nepalese are very much a part of Swindon now. We know that with their Gurkha connections, they are doing an awful lot as far as community safety is concerned within the area.
"The Nepalese community have been welcomed by other Swindon residents and continue to be one of the most active groups in the town with the various projects they have completed.”
Starter foods were served by a team towards the back of the hall, and a main meal menu (including dessert) was served later on. There was also a licensed bar serving alcoholic beverages and soft drinks.
The association secured two performers from Nepal, Biru Lama and Eleena Gurung. The pair performed later on in the evening, after a cultural dance performance, partly coordinated by the NAW's own Cultural Secretary.
Vicky Hickey, joint Chief Executive for the Wiltshire Community Foundation, said: "We were able to fund the Nepalese Association of Wiltshire with a grant through our coronavirus programme, for all the work the group have done within the community.
“We can only fund people if they are doing amazing work and the NAW have demonstrated just that with their clean-ups and food parcels for those in need. I was really honoured to have been invited to the New Year celebration evening and share this event with the Nepalese community.”
Following the cultural dance display and the Nepalese artists, the NAW announced the dancefloor to be open to all attendees.
The New Year celebration event was ticketed, and members of the general public who do not belong to the association, were also welcome to attend.
More information about the NAW can be found on its website at https://www.nepaleseassociationofwiltshire.com/
Members of the public can also find the NAW on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/groups/466756270200840
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