By Neena Bhandari
Sydney (India Abroad Newspaper, USA): October, the festive month in the Hindu calendar, heralds the flowering of jacarandas and ripening of mangoes in Australia. Most of the earlier Indian migrants, who came after the `White Australia’ policy ended in 1971, celebrated Deepavali with few friends at home, a game of cards and sparklers thrown in, and going to one of the temples.
Things changed in 2000, the year of Sydney Olympics, when a Deepavali fair was organised by the Hindu Council of Australia, attracting 10,000 people. Today, as people of Indian origin cross the 200,000 mark, Deepavali is being added to the annual cultural calendar with celebrations galore.