Indian performers visiting New Zealand for public Diwali festivals will also take to the road and visit schools in Tauranga and Waikato.

Folk-dance group Mudra Creation, from Mumbai, and a puppet troupe led by master puppeteer Mahipat Kavi, from Gujarat state, are being hosted in New Zealand by the Asia New Zealand Foundation.

Mudra Creation will be in Tauranga today performing as part of Diwali festivals. Photo: YouTube.

The performers will visit Tauranga Intermediate on today, and Greenpark School and Papamoa Primary tomorrow.

They will then travel to Waikato on Thursday to perform at Morrinsville Intermediate, and Hillcrest Normal School on Friday.

Asia New Zealand Foundation director of culture Jennifer King says the school visits are a long-running component of the Foundation's Diwali programme, but this is the first time international Diwali performers have travelled outside Auckland and Wellington.

"These school visits give hundreds of New Zealand children the chance to learn about the traditions of Diwali, and to see the performers close up and ask them questions. It's a fantastic way to learn about India.

"Often it also gives children from Indian families the confidence to talk about their own culture in their classroom. We're excited to be able to take these visits to Tauranga and Waikato, where, like many parts of New Zealand, a growing number of people identify as Indian."

Jennifer says the Asia New Zealand Foundation is very grateful for the support of the Indian Council for Cultural Relations, which has enabled the artists to travel to New Zealand from India.

Puppeteer Mahipat Kavi, from the western state of Gujarat, has been entertaining crowds for the past 50 years and also founded a puppet academy.

His Puppet and Plays theatre company has animated some of India's favourite stories, produced puppet serials for television and films for educational purposes.

Mudra Creation specialises in the folk dances of Maharashtra state, in India's mid-west. The 10 dancers visiting the schools will perform a range of dances, including the lively lavani dance, often seen in popular Bollywood movies.