India
- Sri Lanka -1970s Parag, Deepak, Sivaganga &
Laxmi
Darebin’s Australians: Immigrants to Citizens
INDIA
The first British outpost in South Asia was established in 1619
at Surat on the northwestern coast of India. Later in the century
the British East India Company had opened permanent trading stations
in Madras, Bombay and Calcutta. By the 1850s Britain controlled
most of present day India, Pakistan and Bangladesh. In the days
of ‘The Raj’ the capital city of Calcutta was considered
the 2nd in importance after London throughout the British Empire.
From 1920, Mahatma Gandhi led a mass movement to campaign against
British rule using non-violent resistance and non-cooperation to
acheive Independance. On August 15th, 1947 India gained independance
with Nehru as Prime Minister. Indian public holidays give a good
picture of the significance given to recognising India’s cultural
diversity.
INDIAN PUBLIC HOLIDAYS 2004
‘LOHRI’ - Hindu-Sikh 13th January
‘REPUBLIC DAY’ - Secular 26th January
‘ID-UL-ZUHA - Muslim 2nd February
‘MAHA SHIVRATI’ - Hindu 18th February
‘MUHARRAM’ - Muslim 2nd March
‘HOLI’ - Hindu 6th March
‘RAM NAVAMI’ - Hindu 30th March
‘MAHAVIR JAYANTI’ - Buddhist 3rd April
‘GOOD FRIDAY’ - Christian 9th April
‘BAI SAKKI’ - Sikh 13th April
‘BUDHA JAYANTI’ - Buddhist 4th May
‘ID-A-MILAD’ - Muslim 15th May
‘INDEPENDENCE DAY’ - Secular 15th August
‘RAKSHA BANDHAM’ - Brothers & Sisters 30th August
‘JANMASHTAMI’ - Hindu 7th September
‘GANDHI JAYANTI’ - Mahatma Gandi Birthday 2nd Oct.
‘DUSHEHRA’ - Hindu 23rd October
‘DEEPAWALI’ - Hindu 12th November
‘ID-UL-FITRA’ - Muslim 15th November
‘GURUNANAK JAYANTI’ - Sikh Founders Birthday 28th Nov
‘CHRISTMAS’ - Christians December25th
PARAG MODY
Parag Mody was born in Aden - Yemen to Indian parents from a Gujarati
background. Parag’s family moved back to India in 1966, setting
up in ‘Bombay’, Mumbai, the capital of Maharstra State
in Western India. The Mody’s are followers of the Jain religion.
Parag: “the Jain religion has a strong philosophy of non-violence(thus
vegetarian) and respect for other religions. I was educated in Bombay
primary and secondary schools and have a tertiary degree”.
PARAG COMES TO AUSTRALIA
Parag came to Australia in 1987, studying economics and computers
in Perth before making the move to Fairfield in Melbourne in 1989.
“I continued my studies at RMIT while living with friends
from Goa in a house in Fairfield. In those days we had Laksmi Fonseca
in the neighbourhood producing one of Australia’s first Australian-Indian
newspapers - ‘The Indian Link’. We would shop at the
‘Puja’ Indian shop in Thornbury and had the occasional
meal at Fairfields first Indian restaurant, ‘Everest’.
MARRIAGE and FAMILY
“My first full time job was with the Department of Social
Security in North Melbourne in 1990, transfering to Northcote Centrelink
in ‘91”.
Parag returned to India in 1993 to marry Binaisha. They both returned
with Parag’s parents following soon after. “I posted
a bond to bring my parents to Australia. Most of Binaisha’s
and my family are here. All settled at first in Fairfield, my in-laws
and my brother, his wife and their children. My father Sushi loved
Melbourne and Fairfield. It reminded him of Aden. He worked for
2 years while Mum Usha studied Australian at the Adult Migrant Education
Services (Ames), in Preston. My wife, worked full time, liked tranquil
Fairfield boathouse and my son liked feeding ducks - their favourite
place to be !
PARAG MODY - MULTICULTURAL SERVICES OFFICER
In 1995, Parag started the first Indian Senior Citizens Association
in Fitzroy at the ‘Ecumenial Migrant Centre’ for people
from all over India. “I continued my working life with Centrelink,
moving to Preston in 1997 when the Northcote office closed. Today
I work as a Multicultural Services Officer helping new and established
people of non-English speaking background with diverse cultural
and linguistic backgrounds. I’m working with Arabic, Assyrian,
Chaldean, Somali, Serbian, Croatian, Vietnamese, Chinese, Macedonian,
Greek, Italian and Sudanese. Our Arabic speaking interpreters are
the most utilised at present”.
REFUGEE WEEK ACTIVITIES
During October 2003 Refugee Week activities, Parag led a delegation
from Centrelink to the Preston Mosque in Cramer Street. “The
visit educated us and highlighted the plight of people who have
left their country of origin due to circumstances beyond their control.
Part of what I do is to work closely with a network of ethnic and
community groups to provide assistance and help wherever possible.
We provide many language services at the Preston Multicultural Call
Centre.”
PARAG’S AUSTRALIAN AND STATE GOVERNMENT AWARDS
FOR WORK HELPING OUR SECULAR COMMUNITY
Parag won an Australian Government National community relations
award in 2004 for his work addressing, ‘emerging community
issues’. In 2003 an award from the State Government for ‘Excellence
in Multicultural Affairs’ was given to Parag’s group
of Multicultural Officers at Preston Centrelink for its involvement
in the Neighbourhood project with other key agencies in the area.
Cramer Street Group activities 'helped bring the community together'.
DEEPAK VINAYAK FROM THE PUNJAB IN INDIA
Deepak Vinayak was born in the Punjab, an area in the north west
of India. Home to the Sikhs, the Punjab is rich in agricultural
production growing crops of wheat, rice and cotton amongst other
things.
HINDU FATHER - SIKH MOTHER
Deepaks father Tarsem is a Hindu, his mother Swaranjit a Sikh. Deepak
recalls, “my parents taught me to respect all religions. I
am the oldest and only son. Both my parents are school teachers”.
“In the Punjab I studied civil engineering for 3 years before
becoming interested in studying buisiness marketing in Australia.
ARRIVES TO SYDNEY - THEN THORNBURY
I arrived here on the 13th of March 1996 in Sydney. My first part
time job was with Telstra. Door to door sales, knocking on doors
and everytime a different face! I didn’t feel at home living
in Sydney. My sister had been in Australia since 1992 and encouraged
me to come to Thornbury. She said to me that there was plenty of
good transport and that I could get all the food I liked. Here in
Thornbury I feel at home. I found more work at AAPT telecommunications
and eventually became a sales leader. I had 20 people on my staff,
a mixed group with Fijians, Thailanders, Indians, Anglos, Sri Lankans
& Japanese.
Monica & I married in December 1998. Like my parents she is
a school teacher, has a post graduate master in the arts & the
Punjabi language. She was taught English language at the
SPAN Community house here in Thornbury. Our young boy Rajat was
born in January 2000 at the Royal Women’s Hospital.
DOUBLE MINDED - AUSTRALIA OR INDIA?
After this period Monica & I had become ‘double minded’.
We didn’t know whether to live in Australia or India. As the
oldest son my father & mother wanted me back home. For 3 and
a half years we returned to the Punjab. While back in India my work
was organising seminars that were designed to give students an understanding
about Australian Universities.
BACK TO THORNBURY - 2004
Eventually we chose to come back to Thornbury, this time on a skilled
migration program. So we start again a life in Australia to give
Ranjat a better opportunity in life. I drive taxis to earn some
money and help Indians who have freshly arrived by providing some
interpreting services, set up homes, bank accounts and anything
one needs to know when starting a new life in Australia”.
SIVAGANGA FROM SRI LANKA
Sri Lanka is a large tropical island in the Indian Ocean famous
for its tea and spices. The Portugese, Dutch and British all had
influence on Sri Lanka over the last 300 years. Ceylon gained independance
from Britain in 1948. Religious differences and political assassinations
have at times led to open conflict. In 1972 the Republic of Sri
Lanka was formed. In 1977, attempts to give Tamils greater automony
failed to stem social unrest. By 1985 there were 50,000 internal
refugees and 100,000 Tamil exiles in India. Social instability has
led many of Sri Lanka’s people to emigrate to countries like
England, Canada, Australia and Darebin.
SIVAGANGA SAHATHEVAN
Sivaganga was born in the North Western Sri Lankan city of Jaffna
into a Tamil-Hindu family. She is the youngest of 7 children. To
avoid the worst of the civil conflict her parents moved the family
to Madras in ‘Tamil Nadu’ state in the south of India.
Later the family returned to the Sri Lankan capital Colombo. Sivaganga
recalls, “I worked for the United Nations as a graduate trainee
before finding work as a childrens program producer with the Sri
Lankan Public Broadcasting Corporation”.
BROTHERS AND SISTERS MOVE OVERSEAS
Some of my brothers & sisters started moving overseas. My eldest
sister went to London, one brother to Montreal & another sister
to Toronto in Canada. I came to Australia”.
LEARNING TO PLAY THE VEENA
“My love is singing and playing music. From 5 years of age
I would watch & listen to my older sister teaching music. My
elder sister has been my guru & my teacher. She taught me music,
to sing and play the Veena. Indian music is like a healing, a meditation,
a yoga”.
SIVAGANGA SETTLES IN PRESTON & BUNDOORA
“I arrived in Australia in 1996 & spent the first 6 months
in Perth. I felt I needed more people around me, a richer cultural
environment and so my husband Sahar and I moved to Melbourne coming
straight to Preston. We came here because we were told about the
markets and how we could get anything we needed. Also we were in
Zone 1 and that there was plenty of public transport”.
TEACHING MUSIC IN DAREBIN
“I play & teach traditional Indian music specialising
in the Veena.
It is an ancient ‘string’ instrument that the Hindu
Goddess Saraswathi uses and is one of the oldest instruments still
in use.
Saraswathi is the Hindu Goddess of education & knowledge”.
I am given respect by the community as a teacher and am often called
‘aunty’. Many of the Sri Lankan & Indian community
started sending their children to me. They wanted to keep their
traditions alive and to teach their children the disipline of music.”
“When I came to Darebin I found fertile country for teaching.
Things started slowly. In 1997 I had one student. In ‘98 I
had 20.
By 1999 I had children, adults, Australians, Greeks & Italians.
Today I have 100 students. A similar situation happened with the
Darebin Music Feast. At first they said to me that not many from
the sub-continent come to the Darebin Music Feast so they gave me
just a few minutes on stage. A couple of years later and we had
fully booked the Darebin Arts & Entertainment Centre. What pleases
me is that I have been able to encourage the Sri Lankan & Indian
community to come out and mix, meet and be in amongst the greater
Darebin Community.
I find that the City of Darebin is supportive to a wide variety
of music and that they have a progressive policy”.
“I encourage my students to mix the traditional Indian music
with todays contemporary styles. I love the cross cultural work
and have grown to love Melbourne. Its really the city for music
& dance”.
LAXMI 'VIJAYALAXMI' FONSECA -"GIVING SOMETHING BACK"
Laxmi Fonseca was born in Goa, a Portuguese influenced State of
India. She opened up Victoria's first Indian-Australian newspaper.
Produced in Fairfield Laxmi recalls, "An Indian paper was needed,
it seemed that the only Indian news in Australia was about natural
disasters. Nothing positive. Nothing about India's achievements.
I have been an Australian resident for 27 years, many of those in
Darebin."
IMMIGRATING FROM KENYA
My husband and family were forced to leave Kenya. The prospects
for Asians were not good, this hurt, because my husband and children
were born in Kenya. A few months spent in England were not particularly
encouraging - 'hostile natives', says Laxmi, and getting approval
to travel to Melbourne as 20 pound migrants offered a new start."
ENTERPRISE HOSTEL IN SPRINGVALE
Laxmi,"from the days we landed at Enterprise Hostel in Springvale
in 1976, people reached out to us, and we've never forgotten their
assistance. It helped us settle in, build our lives and put down
roots.
The 13 months we spent in Enterprise were very useful, we learned
a great deal and met many wonderful people from all over the world.
Friends we made at Enterprise are part of the family, those ties
are very strong. I guess we were all striving to make new lives."
INDIA LINK NEWSPAPER
Laxmi started a Commonwealth sponsored group in Frankston, helping
Vietnamese and Chilean families and has worked with India linked
community groups for more than 25 years. She was instrumental in
forming the Federation of Indian Associations of Victoria. She produced
an Indian magazine for four years...."because it seemed that
the only Indian news in the Australian media was natural disasters,
train wrecks or some view on life that could be made to look quirky
to Aussies. My children were growing up here without hearing anything
positive about India and her achievements."
THINGS HAVE CHANGED
"In 27 years Melbourne has changed dramatically. In 1976 it
seemed India was merely an exotic travel destination. It was difficult
to buy spices and basic ingredients necessary for Indian cooking.
If we ever noticed the local Sri Lankan shop had Basmati rice we'd
ring up all our friends to let them know. now almost every suburb
has an Indian eatery and you can buy Basmati rice at the corner
store. Indian culture in every interpretation has moved into the
mainstream....Indian expertise in many fields is prized.
Still giving something back, in Alphington Laxmi encourages a group
of letter writers to asylum-seekers in detention camps and supports
the Asylum Seeker Resource Centre in Thornbury."
