What's behind Auckland's mountain of food?

A mountain of food has been erected inside a Hindu temple in Avondale, Auckland.

 

It's known as an Annakut, and is a traditional ceremony of gratitude celebrated by Hindus as part of the annual Diwali celebrations.

Families prepare vegetarian dishes which are placed on a tiered shrine.

"It's all about offering as many food items as we can to the gods," says Darshan Ramjee.

At the end of a day of singing and worship the dishes are taken down and eaten by the congregation.

Any leftover food is distributed to any families in the community who couldn't make it on the day to ensure nothing goes to waste.

 

Annakut marks the first day of the Hindu calendar year and the fourth day of Diwali celebrations.

Diwali or Deepavali celebrates the triumph of light over darkness and has been celebrated in Auckland since 2002.

Darshan Ramjee says it's important to celebrate Diwali to give the rest of New Zealand an insight into Hindu culture.

"The spirit of giving the food the colours the lights, I think it really opens up the Hindu culture to the rest of the country, and it also shows them that anyone can be apart of it - anyone can come and celebrate its not just restricted to ourselves"

Watch the video to see the mountain of food.

Newshub.