Tag: special events

Diwali celebrations at Wellington City Libraries

Neil

“Let each diya you light bring a glow of happiness on your face and enlighten your soul.”
Happy Diwali!

Diwali the Hindu festival of lights symbolizes the spiritual victory of good over evil, knowledge over ignorance and light over dark and is celebrated during the Hindu Luna month Kartika (between mid-October and mid-November) and traditionally takes place over five days with each day having its own associated rituals and ceremonies.

The first day of Diwali involves cleaning and decorating of homes and workplaces often using diyas small earthen oil-filled lamps and also the creation of rangoli; colourful designs made from rice flour, flower petals, coloured sand, quartz powder.

Day two is a day of ritual and prayer and is also used for purchasing of food especially sweets specially made for the festival which are later given as gifts.

Day three is the main day of the festival when homes, temples and rivers are aglow with light. The youngest members of the family visit their elders, and in the evening, people dress in their finest clothes, feast and pray, visit temples, families and sacred places, light lamps and diyas are set adrift on rivers and streams.

Day four celebrates the bond between the wife and husband and in some regions of India husbands will give gifts to their wives.

On the fifth and final day the sister-brother bond is celebrated.

We are celebrating Diwali this year in the libraries in many ways including….

  • From November 2nd our pre-school storytimes will be special Diwali storytimes! At Kilbirnie and Newtown there will also be craft activities afterwards.
  • On Saturday November 7 @ Newtown Library from 10am-4pm we have a live Rangoli being created by artist Jyoti Gosavi.
  • Also have Social Saturday craft for children and adults – bring the family! 2-3pm.

And we have a specially curated range of books, films and music that celebrate the richness of Indian culture below are just a few of our picks. We have a extensive range of great Indian literature in our collections for you to enjoy. These are just a few of the items we hold.


Anita and me / Syal, Meera
“The debut novel from the award-winning screenwriter of Bhaji on the Beach. The story of nine-year-old Meena, growing up in the only Punjabi family in the Black Country mining village of Tollington. This novel is based on the author’s own childhood, growing up in the ’60s as part of the only coloured family living in a Wolverhampton mining village. As in her films, it is filled with warmth, good humour and eccentric characters.” (Catalogue)

The god of small things / Roy, Arundhati
“Set against a background of political turbulence in Kerala, Southern India, ‘The God of Small Things’ tells the story of twins Esthappen and Rahel. Amongst the vats of banana jam and heaps of peppercorns in their grandmother’s factory, they try to craft a childhood for themselves amidst what constitutes their family – their lonely, lovely mother, their beloved Uncle Chacko (pickle baron, radical Marxist and bottom-pincher) and their avowed enemy Baby Kochamma (ex-nun and incumbent grand-aunt). ” (Catalogue)

A suitable boy : a novel / Seth, Vikram
” The classic Number One bestseller from award-winning author Vikram Seth is one of the longest single volume novels ever published .The book follows the fortunes of four Indian families over the course of eighteen months . The novel commences in the fictional town of Brahmpur and is rich in detail and surrounding stories The sequel provisionally titles A Suitable Girl was due to be published in 2017 but as of 2020 is still unpublished ” (Catalogue)


The sweet-vendor / Narayan, R. K.
” The Vendor of Sweets is a fictionalised biography of a sweet vendor in the fictional Indian town of Malgudi. Jagan the main character is a humble , honest and hardworking character . His obsession with his son Mali gradually spoils him and eventually Mali leaves for America with grand schemes which eventually unravel.” ( Adapted from catalogue)

The white tiger / Adiga, Aravind
“Set in a raw and unromanticized India, The White Tiger-the first-person confession of a murderer-is as compelling for its subject matter as it is for the voice of its narrator: amoral, cynical, unrepentant, yet deeply endearing. Balram Halwai is a complicated man. Servant. Philosopher. Entrepreneur. Murderer. Over the course of seven nights, by the scattered light of a preposterous chandelier, Balram tells us the terrible and transfixing story of how he came to be a success in life – having nothing but his own wits to help him along.”” (Adapted from Catalogue)

The guide / Narayan, R. K.
“Formerly India’s most corrupt tourist guide, Raju–just released from prison–seeks refuge in an abandoned temple. Mistaken for a holy man, he plays the part and succeeds so well that God himself intervenes to put Raju’s newfound sanctity to the test. ” (Adapted from Catalogue)

Fasting, feasting / Desai, Anita
“Tells the moving story of Uma, the plain older daughter of an Indian family, tied to the household of her childhood and tending to her parents’ every extravagant demand, and of her younger brother, Arun, across the world in Massachusetts, bewildered by his new life in college and the suburbs, where he lives with the Patton family. From the heart of a close-knit Indian household to the cool centre of an American family, this novel examines a surfeit of feasting and Indian family life, and the self-denial and starving of affluent American women in the land of plenty.” (Adapted from Catalogue)

Pather panchali
“Pather panchali is set in rural India and is part part of the classic Apu trilogy of films which are frequently listed among the greatest films of all time. The film begins when a young daughter is caught stealing food for a frail grandmother, the birth of Apu brings joy and hope to the struggling family until the prodigal son endures extreme tragedy in the wake of a destructive monsoon.” (Adapted from Catalogue)

Our Exclusive Q and A with Ben Aaronovitch

Neil

This is your brain on magic.

Ben Aaronovitch

We recently approached international bestselling author Ben Aaronovitch about the possibility of doing a Q and A, very much expecting a polite ‘no’ in response. So when he kindly agreed, we were thrilled!

Thinking about how best to compile some really good questions for Ben, the answer was obvious: we would ask our library patrons to send in their questions for Ben. The questions we received ranged widely — from enquiries about the Rivers of London series, to examples of how to do research, to experiences writing for Doctor Who.

So, below we now present our interview with Ben Aaronovitch. In our opinion, he was hugely entertaining, insightful and really funny to interview and we thoroughly enjoyed the experience. We wish to extend our most heartfelt thanks to Ben, and of course to our users for supplying the questions. Enjoy!


False value / Aaronovitch, Ben
“Peter Grant is facing fatherhood, and an uncertain future, with equal amounts of panic and enthusiasm. Rather than sit around, he takes a job with émigré Silicon Valley tech genius Terrence Skinner’s brand new London start up – the Serious Cybernetics Company. Drawn into the orbit of Old Street’s famous “silicon roundabout”, Peter must learn how to blend in with people who are both civilians and geekier than he is. Compared to his last job, Peter thinks it should be a doddle. But magic is not finished with Mama Grant’s favourite son.” (Catalogue)

The October man / Aaronovitch, Ben
“If you thought magic was confined to one country-think again. Trier: famous for wine, Romans, and being Germany’s oldest city. When a man is found dead with his body impossibly covered in a fungal rot, the local authorities know they are out of their depth. But fortunately this is Germany, where there are procedures for everything. Enter Tobias Winter, an investigator for the Abteilung KDA, the branch of the German Federal Criminal Police which handles the supernatural.” (Adapted from Catalogue)

Rivers of London [3] : black mould / Aaronovitch, Ben
“Something dark and slimy is dripping through the walls of suburban London. Not the usual stuff that smells funny and can be hell on the lungs, this mould is possessed by some dark power full of bad intentions. Looks like it’s another case for London’s one and only trainee wizard cop, Police Constable Peter Grant, and his reluctant partner, Sahra Guleed.  Black Mould ties directly into the Rivers of London continuity, set between Foxglove Summer and The Hanging Tree.” (Adapted from Catalogue)

Overdrive cover Remembrance of the Daleks, Ben Aaronovitch (ebook)
“With unfinished business to attend to, the Seventh Doctor returns to where it all began: Coal Hill School in 1963. Last time he was here, the Doctor left something behind – a powerful Time Lord artefact that could unlock the secrets of time travel. Can the Doctor retrieve it before two rival factions of Daleks track it down? And even if he can, how will the Doctor prevent the whole of London becoming a war zone as the Daleks meet in explosive confrontation?” (Adapted from Overdrive description)

For more information on Ben Aaronovitch’s books visit his website. And again, a big thank you to Ben!

Everything Ben Aaronovitch on our Catalogue

Have you ever wanted to write for Doctor Who and want to know how?

Neil

  • Have you ever wanted to write for Doctor Who and want to know how ?
  • Would you like to know about the process for writing for television ?

Well here is your chance.

As well as being the internationally bestselling author of Rivers of London series of books and graphic novels, the multitalented Ben Aaronvitch is also a scriptwriter for both Television and radio.

Ben has written for Casualty, Jupiter Moon, Blakes 7 and the longest running Science fiction series in the world Doctor Who. Indeed his first ever script for television was for Doctor Who. Remembrance of the Daleks: the first story in Doctor Who‘s twenty-fifth anniversary season.

Ben will be doing a very special online question and answer event for us in October and we need questions.

So if you’ve ever wanted to ask Ben Aaronovitch a question, now’s your chance!

Simply send us your questions via Facebook, Twitter, Instagram or email before the end of September and we’ll do our best to ask them during the event.

Overdrive cover Remembrance of the Daleks, Ben Aaronovitch (ebook)
“With unfinished business to attend to, the Seventh Doctor returns to where it all began: Coal Hill School in London in 1963. Last time he was here, the Doctor left something behind – a powerful Time Lord artefact that could unlock the secrets of time travel. Can the Doctor retrieve it before two rival factions of Daleks track it down? And even if he can, how will the Doctor prevent the whole of London becoming a war zone as the Daleks meet in explosive confrontation?” (Adapted from Overdrive description)

Rivers of London [3] : black mould / Aaronovitch, Ben
“Something dark and slimy is dripping through the walls of suburban London. Not the usual stuff that smells funny and can be hell on the lungs, this mould is possessed by some dark power full of bad intentions. Looks like it’s another case for London’s one and only trainee wizard cop, Police Constable Peter Grant, and his reluctant partner, Sahra Guleed, set between Foxglove Summer and The Hanging Tree Aaronovitch is joined by Doctor Who writer Andrew Cartmel for this gripping new series.” (Adapted from Catalogue) Also available as an eBook.

Ask Ben Aaronovitch a Question!

Neil

We are very excited to announce that in October we will be doing a pre-recorded Question and Answer online event with the international bestselling author Ben Aaronovitch–and we need your help with the questions!

Ben Aaronovitch is one of the most popular science fiction and fantasy writers in the world today. His Rivers of London series has been translated into 14 languages worldwide, with every one of the novels becoming a Sunday Times Top Ten bestseller. Ben has been a screenwriter for Doctor Who, Casualty and has written spin-off novels for Doctor Who and Blake 7. His work has even been adapted into a fantastic graphic novel series.

So if you’ve ever wanted to ask Ben Aaronovitch a question, now’s your chance!

Simply send us your questions via Facebook, Twitter, Instagram or email and we’ll do our best to ask them during the event. And in the meantime, check out the selection of Ben’s work we have available to borrow throughout our libraries. Enjoy!

False value / Aaronovitch, Ben
“Peter Grant is facing fatherhood, and an uncertain future, with equal amounts of panic and enthusiasm. Rather than sit around, he takes a job with émigré Silicon Valley tech genius Terrence Skinner’s brand new London start up – the Serious Cybernetics Company. Drawn into the orbit of Old Street’s famous “silicon roundabout”, Peter must learn how to blend in with people who are both civilians and geekier than he is. But magic is not finished with Mama Grant’s favourite son.” (Adapted from  Catalogue)

The October man / Aaronovitch, Ben
“When a man is found dead with his body impossibly covered in a fungal rot, the local authorities know they are out of their depth. But fortunately this is Germany, where there are procedures for everything.Enter Tobias Winter, an investigator for the Abteilung KDA, the branch of the German Federal Criminal Police which handles the supernatural. His aim is to get in, deal with the problem, and get out with the minimum of fuss, personal danger, and paperwork.” (Catalogue)

Foxglove summer / Aaronovitch, Ben
“Ben Aaronovitch takes Peter Grant out of whatever comfort zone he might have found and takes him out of London – to a small village in Herefordshire where the local police are reluctant to admit that there might be a supernatural element to the disappearance of some local children. But while you can take the London copper out of London you can’t take the London out of the copper. Peter soon finds himself caught up in a deep mystery and having to tackle local cops and local gods.” (Catalogue). Also available as an Audiobook. 

The furthest station / Aaronovitch, Ben
” Traumatised travellers have been reporting strange encounters on their morning commute, with strangely dressed people trying to deliver an urgent message. Stranger still, despite calling the police themselves, within a few minutes the commuters have already forgotten the encounter – making the follow up interviews rather difficult. So with a little help from Abigail and Toby the ghost hunting dog, Peter and Jaget are heading out on a ghost hunting expedition…” (Catalogue)

Lies sleeping / Aaronovitch, Ben
“The Faceless Man, wanted for multiple counts of murder, fraud, and crimes against humanity, is on the run. Peter Grant, Detective Constable and apprentice wizard, now plays a key role in an unprecedented joint operation to bring him to justice. But even as the unwieldy might of the Metropolitan Police bears down on its foe, Peter uncovers clues that the Faceless Man, far from being finished, is executing the final stages of a long term plan.” (Catalogue)

The hanging tree / Aaronovitch, Ben
“Suspicious deaths are not usually the concern of Police Constable Peter Grant or the Folly–London’s police department for supernatural cases–even when they happen at an exclusive party in one of the flats of the most expensive apartment blocks in London. But the daughter of Lady Ty, influential goddess of the Tyburn river, was there, and Peter owes Lady Ty a favor. Plunged into the alien world of the super-rich, a sensible young copper would keep his head down. But this is Peter Grant we’re talking about.” (Catalogue)

Rivers of London [1] : body work / Aaronovitch, Ben
“Peter Grant, having become the first English apprentice wizard in fifty years, must immediately deal with two different but ultimately inter-related cases. In one he must find what is possessing ordinary people and turning them into vicious killers, and in the second he must broker a peace between the two warring gods of the River Thames.  The graphic novel is based on the bestselling novel “Rivers of London.” (Catalogue)

Rivers of London [2] : night witch / Aaronovitch, Ben
“Press-ganged into helping a Russian oligarch hunt his missing daughter, PC Peter Grant and his boss, Thomas Nightingale, London’s only wizarding cops, find themselves caught up in a battle between Russian gunmen, a monstrous forest creature – and their nemesis: The Faceless Man. But as Grant and Nightingale close in on the missing girl, they discover that nothing about this case is what it seems!” (Catalogue)

Not One More Acre: A Conversation with Ans Westra at the Central Library

Stephanie A

Ans Westra Poster6smallb

This October marks the 40th anniversary of the 1975 Māori Land March – when Dame Whina Cooper lead marchers to Parliament to protest the loss of Māori lands. “Not One More Acre of Māori Land” became the catch-cry of the marchers, who left Te Hāpua in the far north on 14 September as a group numbering no more than 50, and eventually reached Wellington on 13 October as a powerful hikoi numbering at over 5000.

Iconic photographer Ans Westra captured this event and on Tuesday 6 October Wellington Central Library will be hosting a talk with this renowned and well-loved photographer, who will describe her experience of attending and photographing the historic march. From Thursday 1st October there will also be an exhibition of contact sheet prints of Ans Westra’s photographs of the arrival of the march in Wellington on 13 October 1975.

A Conversation with Ans Westra
Tuesday 6 October at 12.30pm
2nd floor, Central Library

Syndetics book coverWashday at the pa / photographs by Ans Westra ; with text by Mark Amery.
“Washday at the pa, by New Zealand premier photographers Ans Westra, was first published as a photo-story booklet in 1964 by the Department of Education for use in Primary Schools, but all 38,000 copies were withdrawn following a campaign by the Maori Women’s Welfare League that it would have a ‘detrimental effect’ on Maori people – and that the living conditions portrayed within the book were atypical. A second edition of the booklet was published the same years with some images omitted. This edition is a selection of these two editions together with photographs of the washday family taken in 1988, and includes essays by arts critic, journalist and broadcaster Mark Amery detailing the controversy and background of Washday at the pa.” (Syndetics summary)

Syndetics book coverNga tau ki muri = Our future / Ans Westra.
“This timely and visionary new book includes 137 Westra photographs of the New Zealand landscape, with text contributions from Hone Tuwhare, Russel Norman, Brian Turner, David Eggleton and David Lange, who wrote a short piece for Ans as part of an unrealised book project in 1987. Well known for her iconic black and white documentation of Maori culture, Ans Westra is also known for her colour works, which show concern for New Zealand’s destiny, “an island exploited by various waves of settlement”. Shot with Ans’ trusty Rolleiflex camera, the sometimes damning images in Our Future have been made over the last 20 years. “The purpose of the book is to give a directive to the country, an awareness of things changed and lost within its short history. If we don’t plan for the long term and keep taking stop-gap measures, we leave very little behind. Instead of becoming like the rest of the world, this beautiful place should become a shining example of hope for survival in a newly balanced environment.” –Ans Westra.” (Syndetics summary)

Whina [videorecording] : mother of the nation.
“The autobiography of Maori land activist Dame Whina Cooper filmed two years before she died. Born in an earth-floor whare she became a teacher, gum digger, rugby coach, midwife, a tribal leader, president of Maori Women’s Welfare League and controversial leader of the Maori Land March. Who organized her first public protest at the age of 18.” (Library catalogue)

Syndetics book coverHīkoi : forty years of Māori protest / Aroha Harris.
“What have Maori been protesting about? What has been achieved? This book provides an overview of the contemporary Maori protest ‘movement’, a summary of the rationale behind the actions, and a wonderful collection of photographs of the action u the protests, the marches and the toil behind the scenes. And it provides a glimpse of the fruits of that protest u the Waitangi Tribunal and the opportunity to prepare, present and negotiate Treaty settlements; Maori language made an official language; Maori-medium education; Maori health providers; iwi radio and, in 2004, Maori television.” (Syndetics summary)

Syndetics book coverHandboek : Ans Westra photographs / [exhibition curator and coordinator, Luit Bieringa ; texts, Cushla Parekowhai [et. al]].

Ans Westra [videorecording] : private journeys/public signposts / director, Luit Bieringa ; producer, Jan Bieringa.
New Zealand photographer, Ans Westra, talks about her career.

Listen to Travel Writer Tomislav Perko at the Central Library

wclstaff

A few weeks ago, we had a great pleasure to host Tomislav Perko’s inspiring talk at the Central Library. We had an amazing crowd who listened to Tom’s every word, watched his cool videos and asked many many questions.

For those who missed this fun and informative event, we are grateful to Tom’s amazing generosity to allow us to share the visual presentation (the slides below and his VIDEO) and the SOUND RECORDING OF THE EVENING.

Originally from Croatia, Tomislav Perko left a career as a stockbroker in the aftermath of the financial crisis, and decided to follow his dream to travel the world.

100 days of spring coverHe hitchhiked, slept in parks, volunteered, played the guitar on the street, worked odd jobs, sailed across the Indian ocean on a 13-meter boat, hung out with Maasai warriors in Kenya and shamans in the Amazon jungle. Five years later, he published a book “1000 Days of Spring” and continues travelling to talk about his adventures. Having recently arrived in New Zealand, we were happy to welcome Tomislav to the Central Library where he shared his amazing experience with a captive audience.  Whether you are thinking of setting off on an adventure of your own or just enjoy listening and reading about other people’s, this presentation is sure to inspire.