'NEIGHBOURHOOD' THEME Captions by Imogen Staines www.able.co.nz Captions were made possible with funding from NZ On Air. Copyright Able 2016 LAID-BACK, FUNKY MUSIC Freemans Bay used to be exactly that ` a bay ` until reclamation pushed the harbour out to the current water's edge. Used to be home to an abattoir, a morgue and the city rubbish incinerator, so not a flash address. In the 1930s, the Decadent Areas Committee was set up to rid Freemans Bay of its perceived social wrongs ` crime, disease and unions. LAID-BACK, FUNKY MUSIC CONTINUES Eventually the slums were pushed out to make way for council houses and a fringe of old villas on the slopes. It's gentrifying. But there were still 27 different nationalities represented at the local primaries. Now, I was born in Bombay. I grew up in the Middle East. I really embrace having a varied community around me. Let's hear some of the stories the locals have to share. In this episode of Neighbourhood, we'll share a cup of chai at a local landmark. All these houses, um, were being demolished, because the people were being moved out because it was that gentrification of the area, or the 'slum cleansing'. I think that's how the court described it. So we have been fighting for this piece of dirt since 1959. A man from Brazil brings a little bit of carnival to Freemans Bay. Lots of people go to Rio just to do the` the parade experience, and I always feel like I love to go in the end of the parade and just pick up the pieces and put it together as something else. The Swiss community bond over some festive mayhem. CHUCKLES: This here is one of the reasons why we come to band practice. See that? This is b` well, half-eaten now, but if you saw the whole thing, you'd wanna come to every band practice. And we'll discover the way dance can become a common language between cultures. The idea came about was ` how do we get the groups to come together, collaborate and then dance together? So to use dance and music as a facility to promote friendship. I'm Zia Mandviwalla, and this is my neighbourhood. 'NEIGHBOURHOOD' THEME LAID-BACK MUSIC When The Birdcage opened in 1885, it was directly on the quayside. Freemans Bay was the first port of call for new migrants fresh off the boat and keen to make a new life in a young colony. MUSIC CONTINUES Now, my family are Zoroastrians. The Zoroastrians are a small religious and ethnic minority living in India today. The Zoroastrians came to India in the eighth century when a wave of Islam swept them out of the Middle East. Now, layered into that cultural bedrock are all of the years I spent living in Dubai, and I came to NZ with my family when I was 18 years old, so I consider myself a product of all the places I've ever been. And a mix of cultures provides a really great recipe for creativity. GENTLE MUSIC Here we've got a photo of myself. I don't know how old I was ` maybe about 5. And then a photo of me as a little ballerina. MUSIC CONTINUES My name is Vivian Chow. I was born in Malacca, Malaysia. It was my classmate who had the address of Palmerston North Girls' High School. She applied, and I thought, 'Why not?' I'd apply as well. It was something as simple as that. And I was 15. So in that sense I was adventurous. 'NZ. What do I know about NZ? Nothing very much, 'except that it's got lots of sheep. I'll go.' Looking back, it was a brave move, because I had never left home, I had never been on a plane, I had never been away from my parents. REFLECTIVE PIANO MUSIC There were many of us who graduated here and had families here. In 1993,... I had the idea that we need to have a association, and the NZ Asia Association began. We then later decided to have a highlight project that would identify us from other associations. And that's where the idea of Viva Eclectika came about. Hi, everyone! BRIGHT MUSIC Viva Eclectika is a competition. The groups have been invited to come today to do their practice. When I was a student, I used to get involved in dances, and it was really traditional ` if you are Chinese, you do a Chinese dance; if you're Irish, you'll do a Irish dance; if you're Indian, you do an Indian dance. And you do your dance, and you come, and you don't really mix. The idea came about was ` how do we get the groups to come together, collaborate and then dance together? So to use dance and music as a facility to promote friendship. Oh, it's absolutely amazing. It's a new experience for us. And we have to learn some Chinese dancing, and the girls have to learn some belly dance movements. And the way we, uh, fuse it together is quite exciting, and, uh, we get to know so many people, so many different, uh, dance groups. Actually, it was, uh, Vivian introduced us together. So it was lovely. It is very important we're showing to everybody our culture, because we're living in` side to side and we want, uh, just the love, peace, joy, party. Yeah! BOTH LAUGH LIGHT CHIMING MUSIC VIVIAN: Viva Eclectika is held at the Dorothy Winstone Theatre, Auckland Girls' Grammar School, in Freemans Bay. INDISTINCT CHATTER LIGHT MUSIC CONTINUES Now, all of us are volunteers ` completely done on voluntary service. It's about having fun... Oh, that's right. ...and dancing, yeah? Money... ...doesn't matter. No, it doesn't. ALL LAUGH First prize is $3000. Whatever we have earned from previous Viva Eclectikas, we give it back to the community. If you can dance with someone, you can't fight with that person. If you don't like the person, you can't dance together. So I would encourage everyone to come together to dance, because dancing is the language of the soul. TRANQUIL ELECTRONIC MUSIC MUSIC BRIGHTENS I like to see this being spread around NZ. MUSIC CONTINUES If this can be duplicated from Auckland in NZ, I think we can inspire the world. Well, Vivian's a gem. And look at the people that she gathers around her, which is testament to what she can do. And Vivian is really a champion, because she is doing this voluntarily. She had an idea. She brought together a core group of people, and it's champions like her that we value in the community ` that are really making a different for all NZers. MAN: You are the 2016 winners of Viva Eclectika. (MAN SHOUTS PRAISE INDISTINCTLY) CHEERING, APPLAUSE Viva Eclectika 2016 champions! VIVIAN: It's really brought me friends from different cultures. And when I do this project, I feel pretty much alive, and I love it, because other people love it too. CHEERING, APPLAUSE FADES AMBIENT MUSIC During the Second World War, Victoria Park was turned into a military camp for the American armed forces. So enterprising locals solidified their already seedy reputation by supplying the Yanks with illicit grog and female company. AMBIENT MUSIC CONTINUES Going to school in Dubai, I was surrounded by expat kids from all over the world. And I always wanted to do the same things my friends were doing ` going out partying, having a boyfriend. My parents struggled with this a little bit. Wasn't how they were brought up. And while they supported most decisions that I made, I've always thought that the gap between generations is an interesting one, especially with migrant families living in new lands. WARM PIANO MUSIC My full name is Premila Rupa. And I was born in Karol, India, in the state of Gujarat. It was 1953 when I came to NZ, and then when we got the shop, I was about nearly 18 months old. My dad brought be on my mum's instructions to check out this business. He had specific instructions to let me go at the door, and I just ran through the door. You know, he thought if it was all right for me to run in the door, it must be an OK business. There you go. (LAUGHS) PIANO MUSIC DEEPENS We've been at this property since 1953, so now it's about 63 years. So, we've been from a greengrocer. Then we became a dairy. Then we have now become a cafe. Remember the shop like that? That was before we revamped it, so that was when... I think as we grew up as kids, eh, that's how the shop used to be. That's how it looked, yes. Mm. My dad did assimilate. He assimilated very well, actually. He spoke fluent English, but in those days you couldn't get anywhere if you didn't. If you didn't, it was like being ostracised. (CHUCKLES) You couldn't get anywhere. And he spoke fluent Maori as well. Oh, that's Mum at the back of the shop. Mm-hm. Yeah, she must've been` She looks like she's ready to go shopping. ...shopping or been shopping. Yeah. But you can see the landscape behind as well of the old Wellington St. I don't think we had the on-ramps then. No. Well, that would've been before all the motorway on-ramps. This building is important to us because it symbolises my mum and dad coming to this country and, um, making something their own. SOFT, PENSIVE MUSIC Definitely there's a lot here that shows the struggles that, uh, Mum and Dad went through. And` and many a night inside the shop. I can remember late night typing up letters to ministers of work, prime ministers at the time, our local councillors, our local MP, asking for help. At that time, when it was all` all these houses were being demolished because the people were being moved out, because it was that gentrification of the area, or the 'slum cleansing'. I think that's how the court described it. So we would've been fighting for this piece of dirt since 1959. And, uh, so we're the longest-lasting p` (CHUCKLES) We're the only lasting people here, I think. (CHUCKLES) BRIGHT MUSIC Our Bushells sign that we had on the outside of the building ` the original one ` is now, um, inside the shop. And we also ` to do Mum and Dad an honour ` we put "Rupa's" on top of the building when we restored it. Mum actually got o see it before she passed away, and she was thrilled to bits. PENSIVE PIANO MUSIC The dairy was a bit of a meeting point for many of the locals at the time, because, um, we were sort of likened to Coronation Street at times. Mum had her way of, um, making friends. Mum invited them in for a cup of tea ` cup of char ` Indian char. LILTING PIANO MUSIC Oh, that smells nice. Smells beautiful. Oh, that masala maker in my family is my sister Kanchan. She's a champion. She can keep the job, cos she's good at it. (LAUGHS) I am making char masala. This is the spices that we put together, put in our Indian tea. These are not spices like in a curry. They're aromatics. Very aromatic. Absolutely divine. I mean, I think the first thing we every learnt was to make char, wasn't it? Oh yes, definitely. Um, Mum always taught us, cos we had lots of visitors, and they were always coming in. You learnt your spices as well. It was just an art, and you learnt it quickly. You had to. Here we go. Char was in those days not as well known as it is today. It was exotic, and it was drunk in small teacups and saucers. You could give it to your accountant, your lawyer. Our doctor had many a cup of tea when he did house visits. GENTLE PIANO MUSIC I think Mum` Mum brought high tea before it became fashionable. LAUGHTER Yep, fair enough. Come on. Always had to have these cups available. They weren't tucked away in the cabinet. Wow. Yes, you used them. Well, yeah, these cups` IMITATES POSH ACCENT: Like the Queen, you know. Just having a cup of chai. Exactly. She loved royalty. LAUGHTER A drink to Mum and Dad... ALL: Mum and Dad. ...and the old country. Old country. ALL CHATTER I think, Mum and Dad, we've done them proud by coming through this far with their name on the building. And we're still here today, and we're pumping out coffee, tea, chai, food. I think we've done a` an OK job. (LAUGHS) GENTLE MUSIC I'm a film-maker, and most of my short films are about how human emotion transcends culture. Amadi is the story of a Rwandan refugee, and Eating Sausage is a film about a Korean woman who learns to swim. And in some way or another, all of my work is about my own experiences as an immigrant ` whether it's being cut off from anything familiar, adapting to new surroundings or trying to re-establish life in a new place. And I've been really fortunate. I feel very lucky to have this medium through which I can talk about these things and create something for other people to engage in. WARM, SOFT MUSIC MUSIC CONTINUES INTRIGUING PIANO MUSIC MUSIC CONTINUES MYSTERIOUS MUSIC MUSIC CONTINUES SOFT ELECTRONIC DRUMBEAT EMERGES MUSIC CONTINUES TRANQUIL MUSIC MUSIC CONTINUES MUSIC DEEPENS Oh, Leanna, you cut some pieces first, and then when you are ready, I will take you over there, then help you with the hot glue gun. OK? Cool. We're gonna put on the mask a moko. Oh, that's very cool. TRANQUIL MUSIC GIRL: This is the crown. OK, and how the crown goes? Where does it...? Gonna go like that. Just like this? And some of them like this. OK. Let's do` Let's do the crown first, and then you do the rest. TRANQUIL MUSIC LINGERS, FADES WARM ACOUSTIC GUITAR MUSIC In 2008 I got to work alongside director Nandita Das on a film set in India about the Gujarat riots. It was one of the most gratifying professional experiences of my life. I got to work on a serious film about contentious political and social issues. It was also one of the most challenging experiences of my life, as we worked long hours, there was never enough money and communities welcoming of us being there. It's made me come to appreciate and realise how important it is to be accepted for who you are and to surround yourself with like-minded people. WARM MUSIC My name is Eveline, and I'm born in Switzerland. My husband and I, we came to NZ the first time 1985. That's because my husband's brother was in NZ already. WARM MUSIC CONTINUES We had a bakery in Switzerland ` a cafe as well ` like, the same sort of business. It was just our dream to come here and open up something` something like that ` something similar to back home. Uh, the custard slices, they are called, um, cremeschnitte. That's like an everyday sweet and, like, the hazelnut hats, and we call them pfarrer hut in, um, Swiss, which is, um, like a` a priest's hat ` a triangle hat. Um, they're very` They're very popular ` really nice. Uh, we're celebrating our cafe and bakery. It's 23 years, um, this year. And` And, uh, we` it's also our first practice of the year for the band. And, um, the, sort of, just a bit special food ` not just leftovers. (LAUGHS) BRIGHT PIANO MUSIC We practise, um, it's always Freemans Bay Hall. MUSIC CONTINUES In Switzerland I played in the band in our village. I always said if I would be in NZ, I would like to join the band. Guggemusik means, um... Gugge is, uh, blowing. We are, like, a oompah band. I play the bass drum. Yeah, I just can express myself with playing, and, I don't know, it's just the noise it makes as well. (LAUGHS) BAND PLAYS JAUNTY TUNE My first Guggemusik memory ` I think my older sister was playing, and such in a small community, more or less everybody was in the band. Especially in Lucerne as well, they have, like, bands with 70 members, you know? They` They're huge. (PLAYS JAUNTY TUNE) Guggemusik Auckland, we managed to go three times to Switzerland and represent NZ. BAND CONTINUES PLAYING The band used to be Swiss, but now I'm the only Swiss in the band. But, um, we play the same like` like in Switzerland. (PLAYS 'WHEN THE SAINTS GO MARCHING IN') Lots of people can't read music in the band. They just play from hearing and just learning. We're certainly looking always for new members, which is quite hard, because people don't understand the music, you know? But lots of people when they see us on` in parades or playing on different events, they love it. WARM MUSIC Come on, girls! Come on, guys! Help yourself! Some sweets and savouries. Help yourself. APPLAUSE, CHATTER CHUCKLES: This here is one of the reasons why we come to band practice. See that? That's just` That's just` This is b` well, half-eaten now, but if you saw the whole thing, you'd wanna come to every band practice. LIGHT-HEARTED PIANO MUSIC INDISTINCT CHATTER The target what we practise for is really for the parades ` for the Christmas parades or for play-outs, like scallop festivals and Oktoberfest in October. They're always the big hits, you know? It's really exciting. Us, the band, and it's just like a big family, really. Yeah. BAND PLAYS UPBEAT MUSIC My drum is special, because when we were in Switzerland, my nephew said, 'Actually I don't want my drum any more.' 'I would like the drum. I can take it over.' So we did, and` and it, um, yeah, it is special. It's my nephew's drum, which he played in the same band like I used to play as well. It is a very good way to stay in the culture ` this way with the band and everything. I'll play till` (CHUCKLES) till I die. (LAUGHS) No, no plans to give up the drum. No. RELAXED MUSIC As a migrant, I've never experienced discrimination. I've always lived in worlds where I've been accepted for who I am, where doors have opened rather than closed. I realise that my life could've been a lot different if I'd lived in the Middle East or in India. But instead this here is home ` Freemans Bay ` central, diverse and accepting. Captions by Imogen Staines. www.able.co.nz Captions were made possible with funding from NZ On Air. Copyright Able 2016