For a taste of Indian street food -- and something practical to eat while walking around -- head for the Kati Grill stand. Jaspreet Bhatia and her team are prepared for a big weekend: before the festival starts, they have hand-made about 3000 roti to wrap around flavoursome combinations of vegetables and grilled paneer (compressed cottage cheese), sauces and other condiments.
Kati rolls -- think an Indian kebab -- are a popular street food originating from Calcutta, but Bhatia has adapted the combination to make it lighter. "Traditionally, there's a greasy curry in a greasy roti, but we have made it more healthy, with grilled meats and vegetables."
Offering a traditional taste with a spiritual twist is the Auckland branch of the International Society for Krishna Consciousness, or Hare Krishnas. Volunteers are serving vegetarian and vegan options from the menu of its well-known Food for Life restaurant on K Rd, including chickpea curry, butter paneer (a vegetarian butter chicken) and halva, a sweet semolina dessert.
Food from the Kati Grill.
"Whatever we eat, we always offer to the Lord before we consume it, so the food is blessed," says Auckland branch fundraiser Sarita Sharma.
Music
The Beatles were famously inspired by it, and Western music remains influenced by it.
Indian classical music, combining the strings of the sitar, the rhythms of the tabla drum and the tones of the harmonium, has one major difference to its Western cousin -- most of the music is improvised by the performers.
It was this "free form" aspect which first attracted master tabla player and music teacher Basant Madhur, of the Sargam School of Indian Music. Madhur, who was raised in a family of musicians, says he was attracted to the rhythms right from childhood.
"After learning a few sounds [on the tabla], the teacher would tell us to improvise," he says.
"I found that very interesting, as it gives you so much creative freedom. There is no sheet music so it is very good for your concentration and creativity."
Madhur, who came to New Zealand in 2002, established the Sargam School in 2006 to teach sitar, tabla, harmonium, violin and classical singing to both Indian and non-Indian students. He hosts workshops at the festival for those keen to learn more.
"Over the last few years at the festival we have lots of people coming to listen and watch -- most of them listen, only a few of them try," he laughs. "It's not to everybody's taste, but we want to make people aware of the art form and learn more about it."
Weddings
Everyone loves a wedding -- and an Indian wedding with its ritual, colour and celebration knocks the spots off a white-and-pastels Western ceremony. This year's Auckland Diwali festival is the first to feature an Indian wedding expo, providing a glimpse into the traditional and modern aspects which bring spectacle and significance to the big day, from wedding garlands, mandaps (wedding altars) and mehndi (henna tattoos) to clothing, makeup and music.
Indian wedding planner Soni Mudaliar -- who jokes that she is known to the local community as "0800 MANDAP lady" -- says, "it will be interesting for the public to see what goes into an event like this".
Mehndi - henna tattoos.
"I come from a Brahman family -- my father was a priest -- so I gained a very good knowledge of Indian weddings, travelling around Fiji with him," says Mudaliar.
During the traditional season, from November to April, the former interior designer is involved in at least two weddings a weekend, and it has become big business for services around the country. The most high-profile wedding Mudaliar has staged was that of Scotty and Shanti on Shortland Street in 2008.
Mudaliar says Diwali was celebrated with family and neighbours back in Fiji, and in New Zealand her own family has expanded the tradition. "I really missed that when we came here, so every year we invite a non-Indian Kiwi friend to come and share the festival with us," says Mudaliar. "We light candles together, and share food. It's one of the most important Hindu events in our lives, and it's a chance to show the people around us what it is about."
Art
For a break from the hectic activity around Aotea Square, get another angle on Indian culture at the nearby Auckland Central Library, in Lorne St. Two works on India, by Auckland installation, performance and video artist Brydee Rood, are on display at View Finder, the moving image presentation from Nga Taonga Sound and Vision (the New Zealand Archive of Film, Television and Sound) installed in the Auckland Central Library window on Lorne St.
Rood first travelled to India in 2011, and has returned a number of times to live in rural communities and cities, producing new work relating to the environment. An outcome of her 2013 trip was a collaboration series with local artist Chiman Dangi.
"We both shared a passion for looking at issues in relation to waste, water and land use and their effects on the local environment," says Rood.
"The results were Picnic at Brahmpol, a live installation, performance and video project by a lake in Udaipur, northwest India, and Untitled Land, a site-specific installation incorporating rubbish bags, raincoats, solar lights and a rickshaw. Each of the two videos on display at View Finder corresponds to one of the installations.
"It became a live performance," Rood says. "We went into the landscape and created an ephemeral, process-based installation, then the general public and pedestrians passing through the work became engaged as our audience. It was a really vibrant experience."
Need to know
• Auckland Diwali Festival, today and tomorrow, noon-9pm, Aotea Square and surrounds.
• As well as food and craft stalls there will be live performances from more than 100 national and international groups, workshops on art and music, and a Bollywood dance competition. There is also a dedicated kids' zone with storytelling, games and rides. The grand finale fireworks' display tomorrow night, 9pm.
• Indian classical music performances, Aotea Centre. Today and tomorrow, noon-4pm; workshops from 1.30pm-2.45pm.
• The Indian Wedding Expo: level five, Aotea Centre. Today and tomorrow, live presentations at 4pm and 7pm.
• View Finder runs 24 hours a day, seven days a week, 365 days a year, in the Auckland Central Library's Lorne St window.
