A Dublin couple who brought their north Dublin Indian community together hopes to build a cultural bridge between India and Ireland.
Balgriffin duo Rohit and Malvika Srivastav wanted to create a fun space for immigrant children to connect with their culture. Rohit told Dublin Live: "When you move away from your country, you really miss those connections you have with people back home.
"I came to Ireland in 2015 and I was always busy with work and projects. The adults did have 'tea and bonding sessions' but I found that my kids were missing the connections."
Read more: 'Ireland is a very friendly place - and has given me opportunities to shine'
The pair decided to launch Dublin Celebrations to celebrate the vibrant Indian community in Parkside and "promote fresh talent". Rohit added: "If someone wants to show off their skills no matter how young they are, Dublin Celebrations will give them a platform."
"When we started Dublin Celebrations, we reached out to our neighbours and they welcomed the idea with open arms. Now Dublin Celebrations is not about Rohit, it’s not about Malvika, it’s about the Parkside community."
Last year, they hosted their first-ever Diwali event in Baldoyle which saw all of their neighbours come together for a lively celebration.
Rohit said: "The kids that performed were our neighbours and I could see the happiness in their parents’ eyes while they performed on stage. It was an amazing feeling.
"It was a full house and that was a thumbs up for us." After that, there was no looking back for Rohit and Malvika and they started hosting a number of free events for the community.
Now, they are gearing up for the event of a lifetime as the festivities are set to kick off with a blast as "Ireland's Biggest Diwali" will be taking place on Sunday, October 16 in Tallaght.
The celebrations will see a mix of dance, music, fireworks, and cultural performances. Rohit claims this will be the biggest Ramlila performance ever seen in Ireland.
Rohit hopes that these events will ensure his kids always feel connected to their homeland no matter where in the world they are. He said: "It’s good that there’s a bridge we can build from India to Ireland, and that bridge is about the values that we want to from there and more of our history, the family-oriented values, and the culture.
"That’s what I want our kids to have regardless of where we are. Today I’m here, maybe I’ll be somewhere else tomorrow. But at least my kids shouldn’t be bound by where I’m living. Like Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam (Sanskrit: The world is a family), anywhere you can go, it’ll be your home."
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