TAMU CULTURE DAY तमु संस्कृति दिवस 2023
Date : Nov 5, 2023
Posted By : Admin
Event Description :
Tamu Culture Day 2023 was celebrated by Tamu Samaj Victoria (Australia) community from 1 pm to 6 pm on Saturday 4 November 2023 at Coburg Harriers Athletic Club, Coburg North VIC 3058, Australia. More than 200+ people across Melbourne as well as family visitors from overseas (Nepal) got together to discover, share and celebrate Tamu (Gurung) identity and culture in Melbourne. The weather was great for planned indoor and outdoor activities.
Some highlights of the day were –
- Tamu Ancestor Pooja (तमु पितृ पुजा), Sange Lama Inder Bahadur Gurung led the ritual offering food/drinks and good wishes to all the departed souls.
- A talk on ‘Tamu Culture’ was given by Mr Som Prasad Gurung, TSV Board Committee Representative. He highlighted the unique cultural heritage of Gurung people, and spirit to keep it going whatever world countries they have migrated to from the ancestral mountains of Nepal.
- Dr Mohan B Gurung, TSV Advisor and TSV Cultural Centre Coordinator gave an update about the TSV Culture Centre project, and new membership model to attract the fund to realize it sooner. Please visit http://tsv.org.au/membership/
- Tamu cultural dress competition for children.
- Sports activities included Traditional shot put (ठेलो फाल्ने) for Gents; Pot hitting (घैटो फुटाउने) for Ladies ; and Musical chair (सांगीतिक कु्र्ची) for children. There was a jumping castle for little kids.
- Deusi-Bhailo (देउसी-भैलो) program was organized as a part of Tihar festival by TSV artists led by Rajan Gurung and Laxman Gurung. It consisted of Bhattaune (भट्टाउने नेपाली र तमु भाषामा) – leading the group with traditional intention of Deusi-Bhailo, marking Tihar occasion, extending wishes to the home families, singing, dancing, and fundraising. Many attendees sang and danced together, moreover donated $2000 for TSV Cultural Centre project.
- Prize/certificate distribution to the winners of various competitions held during the day.
- Attenance of other community representatives – Mr Manish Tamang from Tamang Soceity of Victoria, Mr Rakesh Rana from Magar Samaj Victoria, and Mr Yogendra Rai from Kirat Samaj Victoria.
The event coordinator was TSV Assitant Secretary Mr Gam Gurung. Free food and drinks were served by Ama Toli (TSV Mothers’ Group) led by Anita Gurung. Laxman Gurung and Merina Gurung served as the event MCs. Venue setup, decoration and pack up needed many volunteers – Amrit Gurung, Hari Gurung, JB Gurung, Mabi Gurung, Gopal Gurung, Inder Singh Gurung, Lalit Gurung, Ashok Gurung, and many more. TSV Assitant Secretary Milan Gurung was busy with Facebook Live and recording Tamu LhoChhar promotional videos. Dr Parbati Gurung was the onsite first-aid officer. TSV Treasurer Inder Singh Gurung helped with memberships, donations and fund handling. Many 2nd generation young Gurungs such as Bipin Gurung and Arnav Gurung helping with musical chairs, Archan Gurung and Divya Gurung with photography, etc are really an encouraging sign. Even the little ones supported by their parents dazzled the crowd with a great Gurung attire. The future of TSV community looks promising.
On a couple of acknowledgements, TSV received a multicultural event grant worth $2000 in small event category from Victorian Government. We would like to acknowledge and thank for continually supporting our events. To the venue provider, Coburg Harriers Athletic Club, who provided a lots of support on the day despite many unforeseen logistics issue (furniture, kitchen, outdoor pitch, etc). The venue was great after the recent renovation, and very well suited the event activities.
Lastly we would like to thank everyone for the attendance/contribuiton in a variety of ways. We look forward to see you all at our next grand event Tamu Lho-Chhar (तमु ल्होछार/ल्होसार) on 31/Dec/2023. As always, please feel free to reach out to anyone in the TSV leadership group (Executive, Board, Advisors, Mothers’ Group) for any comments/advice.
Thank you
Tamu Samaj Victoria (Australia)