ART teacher Jyoti Gosavi helps Shanaya Kumar (left) and Alisha Singh paint girls dancing under the sun, much like the dancing they will be doing at the Diwali festival.
They are pupils at the Wellington Hindi School, which wants Wellingtonians to know Indian culture is more than Bollywood dancing.
The students are busy preparing for the opening of Mystique – Beyond Comprehension, an exhibition celebrating their Indian heritage.
The exhibition features tribal paintings by the students that depict traditional Indian daily life.
Mrs Gosavi says the Warli style of painting means “piece of land” in the tribal communities in the state of Maharashtra.
“The painting creates an exchange and connection for the children to traditional Indian life they otherwise wouldn’t have,” she says.
The paintings show people cooking, dancing and praying , things the children can relate to even though they live in New Zealand.
The school has been teaching Hindi and Indian culture for nearly 20 years to children from mixed backgrounds who speak more than 12 different languages.
Co-ordinator Sunita Narayan says the school teaches language and the culture that it transmits.
“It is important for Kiwi Indian kids to be grounded and proud in both cultures,” she says.
Children should not have to isolate their Indian culture and leave it at home: “We teach them to be proud of it.”
The children switch between speaking the national languages of India – Hindi and English.
They say they are lucky they can speak two languages, as many kids at their schools cannot.
They enjoy the singing, dancing and shared lunches they have at the school they attend on Sundays.
Parents say the school draws together talents essential to keeping the rich Indian culture alive in New Zealand, which can be hard to do at home.
The exhibition is part of the Diwali Festival of Light and is on at the Michael Fowler Centre until October 24.
