Bright colours, masses of sweet treats, and music that makes you dance - that’s Diwali in a nutshell.

The festival of lights, which marks the Hindu new year, is a chance for people to come together and have fellowship.

For migrant communities, it’s become a chance to remember their homes and past lives, and share their rich cultures with their new communities.

To celebrate in Ashburton, hundreds headed to the Event Centre for a night of entertainment.

It’s the 16th year the area has had an official Diwali celebration, organiser Rohini Sukul said.

“We started doing Ashburton Diwali in 2008.”

Sukul, who is president of the Ashburton Indian Multicultural Charitable Trust, said the appetite for the event grows stronger each year.

“At first it was very small.

“Before, it was a mixture, and we had more Kiwis. I think we see more Indians here now.”

The entertainment ranged from classical Indian to hiphop crews.

“We had Bollywood [dancers], an islands group, a Filipino group, so it was multicultural.”

The trust runs social events throughout Mid Canterbury, with Diwali being one of their biggest.

For Ashburton locals Sona Sebastian and Prajusha Narayananan, it’s exciting to see the Indian diasporas converge for one night.

“It’s a celebration across nations, actually. It’s good that we can celebrate it locally,” Sebastian said.

They were part of the Team Taal, dance group, representing Kerala in South India, which entered the stage to furious applause.

Narayananan said Indian dance styles were for everyone.

“If you’ve got the passion and interest, you can do it.”

Both women said the high Indian turnout to the event didn’t surprise them - Ashburton’s Asian population increased by 33% per the 2023 census, and our Pacific population jumped by 22%.

Those numbers suggest there are many Diwali celebrations to come for our district.

By Anisha Satya