Oz's Parramatta set for Bollywood touch in November

Sydney, Jan 7 (ANI): Parramatta, a suburb in the west of Sydney, is set to hold a weeklong festival, known as Parramasala, in November, and will feature all things Indian.

The Australian Festival of South Asian Arts is part of the NSW Government's plan to inject 500 million dollars into the state's weak economy, reports the Sydney Morning Herald.

The festival of Indian art, music and film in Parramatta's streets and laneways joins an already crowded calendar of food and wine, music and arts events to be held in NSW this year, beginning with the opening of the Sydney Festival on Saturday night.

Launching the state's major events program at the Museum of Contemporary Art, the Premier, Kristina Keneally, said the festival hoped to capitalise on the huge Indian population in the Parramatta area.

Playing on the Hindi word masala, which means mix, Parramasala will be held during a highlight of the Indian calendar, Diwali, the Festival of Lights.

More than 8100 residents of Parramatta were born in India.

Keneally said plans for the festival were "particularly pertinent" at a time when Australian-Indian relations were being tested over a spate of attacks on Indian students, particularly in Melbourne.

She and delegates from government agencies will meet Indian community leaders next month about safety concerns. (ANI)