Kitchener City Hall gets cultural glow-up for Indian pride event

The sights and sounds of India filled Kitchener City Hall Sunday afternoon as its foyer transformed into the heart of an Indian pride event.

The “Indian Vibes” event was created by Megha Birmiwal, the founder and president of Sushila Goyal Group, and hosted at city hall in partnership with the Downtown Kitchener BIA. 

Birmiwal created the event as a way to display the culture and creativity of India in an accessible way.

“I noticed that all the [other Indian] events are ticketed and if you go with your family, it’s easily $100 per event,” said Birmiwal. “So, I always wanted to create an event which is free entry and at a public place like Kitchener City Hall or Library or Kitchener Market that even non-Indians can comfortably come and attend.”

The event aims to bring the different cultures of India under one roof in order to see different festival celebrations at once like Tamil New Year, Bengali New Year and Vaisakhi, a Punjabi and north Indian celebration.

Sharing the culture

Birmiwal said sharing different cultures with the Kitchener community is important.

“I think it’s very beautiful to share your culture because when people don’t know anything about the culture they fear it, they hesitate,” said Birmiwal. “And then [when] you make them aware they start appreciating the beauty, they understand it, they become comfortable. When you make them a part of it, like through the art contest or through the dance workshop, or inviting them and showcasing the culture, they start liking it and embracing it.”

The event originally began in 2022 and has showcased hundreds of performances and dozens of vendors. 

The display of culture at city hall was something Mayor Berry Vrbanovic said was necessary.

“It makes sure that both older generations and younger generations are staying connected to their culture. [Then] bringing that into the Canadian multicultural mosaic and sharing it with others makes Canada the great country that it is,” said Vrbanovic.

Sunday’s event showcased dances from all over India. Rucha Kakde was one of the dancers in her group, which showed three different classical dances in one performance. 

“Kathak is from north India, Odissi is from eastern India and Bharatanatyam is from southern India. So, when all these three areas mix up right, it makes it a great thing to watch,” said Kakde.

Aarti Inandar, one of the choreographers and dancers, said this is the first time all three classical dance styles have been on the same stage in Kitchener.

“For somebody who does not know the Indian classical art forms, especially the dance, seeing these three dance forms will give them an amazing experience of engaging and enriching culture through one song but all three dances together,” said Inandar.