Bringing to light the culture stories of Fijian-Indians

Nadia Freeman's show The Girmit takes us back to the time between 1879 and 1916 when more than 60,000 people were transferred from India to Fiji by the British to work on sugar-cane plantations as indentured labourers. They came to be known as Girmitiyas and today make up over 32 percent of the Fijian population. 15,000 of their descendants live in New Zealand, Nadia Freeman is one of those descendants. A poet, performer, musician, and theatre producer she is about to restage The Girmit in which she tells the story of her grandparents through electronic music, poetry and theatre. It's a story she says no one in her family knew. She is also part of an exhibition at Otara's Fresh Gallery until March 1, Hidden Inheritance in which fellow Fijian-Indian artists explore this legacy. Nadia Freeman also performs as Miss Leading, a producer of electronica, pop, techno and song. The Girmit is to be performed as part of New Zealand Fringe at the National Library Thursday 27th of February and Pataka in Porirua Friday 28 February, and at the Nelson Fringe on the 6th and 7th of March. There is also a new documentary Girmit - The Fields of Sadness getting screenings nationally in Auckland, Hamilton and Christchurch Friday 28 February to 2 March.

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