Vasant Panchami festival, dedicated to Goddess Saraswati, the Goddess of the renewable element of knowledge, was celebrated with great enthusiasm in Sydney, Australia. This festival becomes even more special for Australian expatriates with the new school session starting in late January. The beginning of a new class with the blessings of Goddess Saraswati traditionally holds great significance for Indians.
A huge crowd of high school and kindergarten children was also seen in Sydney Kalibari temple on this day. Where the older children kept their maths, and science books at the feet of the Goddess Saraswati and worshipped them, the younger children wrote their first letter with mantras.
Speaking to New India Abroad, the founder of the Sydney Kalibari Temple Nirjhar Dutta said, "When we came to Australia, our children were very young, during the festival time we used to miss our culture and traditions. How to keep our children connected to the culture even when they were outside, was troubling me a lot. Then in 2005, we along with some friends laid the foundation of the temple."
