Friends Of The Children Foundation (FOTCF) marked their 20th year of generating more than $35 thousand worth of funds for the Royal Children’s Hospital on Friday, 30th March 2018.
Like every year, FOTCF volunteered to raise funds for children by standing at various intersections in Melbourne to support Royal Children’s Hospital Good Friday Appeal.
FOTCF, is a generous fundraising community group which strives hard towards building a better world for future generations in terms of health and overall lifestyle.
The founder member of FOTCF, Shashi Kochhar explained, “This country has given me everything which I ever dreamt of, and now it’s my turn to give something back. We need to show gratitude.”
100% of the money collected on Good Friday would be donated to the Royal Children’s Hospital for getting better equipment in the hospital.
At around 8 am on Friday, first batch of volunteers arrived at the High Street Road and Blackburn road intersection and immediately registered themselves up for the Good Friday Appeal.
Ratan Mulchandani, FOTCF committee member, said, “We form teams for different intersections and accordingly the manager then sets up a roster, so that there is no confusion.”
Each intersection had around 25 people, with at least two people standing on each side of the roads respectively.
All volunteers were wearing highly visible vests with FOTCF logo and were abiding by the road safety rules while on their mission to raise funds for the sick children.
Once the signal flashed red, volunteers would go around asking for donations and quickly return to the footpath before the signal went back to green.
Since only adults could participate in this charity program for safety reasons, Mulchandani specified, “We are thankful to all the family members of the volunteers for looking after their kids at home today. This event wouldn’t have been possible without their support.”
The managers made sure that all his team members were well hydrated and taking breaks to retain energy levels.
The volunteers always had a big smile on their face and they thanked all the donors.
“Everyone keeps running behind success, but very few take out time for a good cause. I try to sow the seeds of charity in minds of our next generation”, said Mr. Kochhar.
The collected funds totalled up to more than $35 thousand in cash all went ahead for the betterment of the needy children.
Good Friday appeal was thus a successful event since many generous people stopped at the signal and donated money for the children.
Multicultural land of Australia is home to many people. According to the survey of Australian Bureau of Statistics, Indians are the fourth largest migrants in Australia, with highest number of Hindu-Indians permanently residing in the state of Victoria. These typical migrants come to Australia for higher education, eventually settling down as permanent residents. Some children born in Australia with Indian ancestral traits become Indian-Australian by birth.
The number of permanent settlers arriving in Australia from India since 1991 (monthly).Credits:ABS.
The growing number of Indians in Australia also calls for several Indian weddings in all parts of Australia.
“Marriages are made in heaven but the destinations can be chosen by us. We choose Melbourne since all our friends are here!”, said Rishi Kanojia, newlywed, while describing about his wedding venue. Be it a destination wedding or a wedding just in your own city with your near and dear ones, it will always be picture perfect.
“We booked the wedding and reception hall ten months in advance. We had total of 200 guests on the day of wedding, so we wanted a big hall with ample guest parking”, said Mukund Deshpande, father of the bride.
There are a variety of wedding venues that offer facilities for hosting an Indian wedding. Temples are the preferred venue just because it offers some religious setups required for the Hindu weddings. Astrologers can help you get a ‘Muhurta’ (an auspicious date for the couple according to astrology) for your big day. “We insist upon booking the venue an year in advance just so that you can have your dream venue, and mostly all the venues are always pretty booked out during wedding seasons”, advised Praveen Shah, wedding coordinator at Shree Swami Narayan Temple.
“Planning an Indian wedding here in Australia is a bit tricky as you don’t really get everything you need for a Hindu wedding here. So we went down to India an year before the wedding and got almost everything including Poulomi’s (the bride’s) Sari. We ordered a courier for the remaining considering the custom check at airport”, said Ashwini Deshpande while pointing towards the big storage boxes that now are lying in their garage.
You can hire almost everything for the wedding here in Australia, but there’s a limited choice. ‘Mundavalya’-a thread with beads- is tied on the forehead of bride and groom in Maharashtrian weddings, is a bit difficult to find in Australia.
Mundavalya
tying mundavalya to the grooms forehead
Similarly, ‘Mangalsutra’ the sacred neck piece, tied by the groom around the neck of the bride during the wedding rituals, is an essential part of Hindu wedding. If you are after a specific design and do not want to risk it for online shopping, then make sure that you get it made in India well before the wedding.
tying mangalsutra around the brides neck
couple pose as she gets the mangalsutra
Considering the climate of Australia, spring and autumn are the two best season for getting married. As we are getting into the wedding season soon, all the wedding planners are on their toes to give best to their clients.
“Our daughter wanted to get married in Australia because she was born and brought up here. We have a lot of relatives in India and so we choose December 26th as the wedding day. That’s when everyone has annual leave and so they could fly down to Australia”, Ashwini Deshpande, said with contentment.
“We made up an kit in April including itinerary for our guests and a list of documents needed for the visa. We attached the invitation card along with it so that they could apply for visas well in advance. Then we were in a position to ask for RSVPs”, explained Mukund Deshpande while showing his file that he had kept ready for his guests.
Hindu Indian weddings are different from western weddings. The overall experience can be a bit overwhelming, but here are a few tips to organise a Hindu- Indian wedding in Australia. First of all, you need to know that the Indian culture is full of colours with fun and frolic, and so are Indian weddings.
Mandap of the weddingWedding under a Mandap
Handing over a few brochures, Praveen Shah said, “We cater to a variety of programs, but we have a set of Indian menus to choose from. We provide sweets too. We can provide DJ, decorations, garlands, lightings, Mandap (place under which all the rituals are done, is made up of 4 pillars with a decorative roof made of cloth) and pedestal for sacred fire or you can hike it individually from elsewhere.”
The couple worshiping fire.
Hindu Indian wedding is typically a week long and has many ceremonies. There is a step by step process of rituals adhering to complex traditions and customs at all the Indian weddings. These weddings are typically organised with a twist based on geographical location and cultural influences. Some weddings are held only during daytime and some after sunset, some weddings are just a simple but elegant affairs whereas some are celebrated with pomp and grandeur. Northern parts of India term their wedding proceedings as ‘Vivaah’ whereas the south Indians generally term it as ‘Kalyanam’. Irrespective of the region, all the Hindu weddings consider ‘Agni’ meaning fire as their primary witness and is called as ‘Yajna ritual’.
Bride seeks the blessings of elderly people
“All the rituals are carried out along with ‘Sanskrit Mantras’ (prayers of spiritual values in Sanskrit language) which were written down in Vedas (old Sanskrit literary book depicting Hinduism) by sages thousands of years ago”, explained Dr. Jayanta Bapat, community priest and Civil Marriage Celebrant for the Hindu community.
There are a set of certain customs observed by all Hindus, during, before and after the wedding.
Pre-wedding rituals-
Engagement-
box of sugar wrapped in a decorative form
This is always the first ceremony and is termed different in different parts of India. Some term it as ‘Sakharpuda’ while others call it ‘Tilak’. During this ceremony, the parents of bride and groom exchange a pack of sugar and accept the respective bride and groom into their families.
Also, like the western culture, some bride and groom exchange rings and then celebrate the engagement party with a piece of cake.
Ganesh puja-
Ganesh Pujan or Grahamak as some call it, marks the auspicious start of the rituals. Everyone worships the lord praying for the wedding ceremony to be all good.
Sangeet-
Sangeet is like a cocktail party where all the friends and family comes together to celebrate the start of the wedding. Everyone performs some form of entertainment for the to be bride and groom.
Haldi-
Applying turmeric
Bride smiles after turmeric is applied
Haldi meaning turmeric, has the cleansing and purifying power. During this ceremony all the guests apply turmeric to the bride and groom with the help of two mango leave. The significance of this is to make the bride and groom aware of the sacrifices that they will have to do in future. It marks an auspicious start of new phase of life for the two.
Chuda bharne (wearing bangles)-
Bangles ready to be given to everyone
Bride wearing green bangles
According to Indian traditions, married women have to wear green bangles whereas other girls can wear any colour. The bride to be wears green colour bangles, indicating that she will now be a married woman. You can make a list of sizes required for the ladies in your house and bring in bangles accordingly.
Mehndi-
applying henna
dark henna on bride’ palms
Mehndi also known as Henna art is done by all the ladies as it is considered as an auspicious ceremony. Furthermore, Mehndi is one of the sixteen adornments of the bride and her beauty is incomplete without it. So they draw it on special day like this one. People say, ‘darker the mehndi, more is the love’. Furthermore, Mehndi is one of the sixteen adornments of the bride and her beauty is incomplete without it. You will easily find it in any Indian store.
Wedding day rituals-
Baarat-
Groom happily joins everyone for dancingBride’s mother welcoming the groomBride enters for the ceremony
Groom sits on a white female horse and his friends and relatives play music and dance to take the procession further. Brides family welcomes this baarat at the venue.
Saat fere-
way to count the rounds
couple goes around the fire seven times
Bride and groom take seven vows and promise to take care of eachother.
Jaymala-
Marking the successful wedding, the bride and groom garland each other, while the others shower them with either colorful rice grains or flower petals as if they are blessing them.
Kanyadan-
The bride’s father hands his daughter over to the groom and asks him to take care of her for the rest of their lifes. Meanwhile, bride’s brother pinches groom’s ear and warns him to take care of his sister.
Post- wedding rituals-
Reception-
It is pretty similar to the western reception where people meet the newly weds and bless them. “Poulomi and Rohit walked down the stairs at their reception like they do in western receptions”, Ashwini Despande said with excitement.
Vidai-
Bride’s mother gets emotional as her daughter leaves
This is the time when the bride leaves with the groom to live their new life. All the close family members hug the bride and bid her good bye.
Taking through a multiple beautiful photos, Abhishek Ghadi, photographer, said “Being an Indian myself, I know the traditions of the wedding so I manage to click good candid shots.” While Siddhesh Jukar, photographer added to it by saying , “I usually offer a package deal which includes prewedding photo shoot along with the wedding and reception photography. If need be, I do have videographers too. So depends on when you need us, I will be available with my team.”
“Managing funds during the whole process is of utmost importance. As a bride’s father, we are the ones who would be spending all the money, that how the traditions are. Managing resources, tasks and money is the key to organizing an Indian wedding in Australia”, said Mukund Deshpande with a sigh.
“Also involvement of the extended family and friends are must in Indian Hindu weddings, but not all our relatives could come down. So we instead sent them souvenirs and Poulomi’s wedding photograph just as a goodwill gesture”, said it while showing the beautiful family photo.
“Australia is a wonderful melting pot of cultures, I have been Hindu Celebrant, authorising weddings since a long time and I see the growing Indian community in Australia getting married in the traditional manner. Makes me feel home at these ceremonies”, Dr. Jayanta Bapat, Priest.
Indian weddings can be done in Australia when you plan everything in advance. There are multiple wedding planners and of course your family and friends to help you through the wedding. So when the wedding bells ring do not stress just plan everything well, and look at other Indian weddings in Australia as your sample.
Poulomi’s big fat Indian wedding in Australia.
Poulomi looked into Rohit’s eyes with contentment holding his hand tight she showed the Mangalsutra, the symbol of their married life. Polo and Rohit as everyone knows them, have been dating each other since a long time now until they decided to get married in an Indian traditional style on 28th December 2017.
“My parents told me that the bride’s father pays for all the wedding expenses and I was definitely not happy with this. But my parents did not listen to any of my so called ‘modern suggestions’ and so I had to step down. I decided to atleast help them plan everything” said Polo with a sigh.
As the wedding video played on the TV, Polo smiled at Rohit with excitement and her eyes told a beautifully happy story. She suddenly paused the video and said “Being brought up in Australia I hardly knew anything about Hindu weddings. I knew only the highlights like the Mangalsutra. So experiencing it all live with my man was a pleasure.”
There are a lot of rituals throughout the wedding week so, Polo’s grandma came down from USA specially to help her out with the wedding. She enjoyed almost all the pre-wedding ceremonies, especially Henna session as her friends came down to celebrate it with her. “Usually only ladies get henna done, but my husband wanted it too. So my grandma, who is not usually up for any changes in tradition, asked a friend of mine to do some henna for him as well. That was pretty adorable!” said polo with an awe.
Polo’s Turmeric ceremony
Polo’s Mehndi and Mangalsutra
Polo enjoyed her wedding video while explaining all the rituals that they did on their big day. She looked absolutely stunning in her Sari which she said was gifted to her by Rohit’s mother. Sipping a cup of coffee, Polo logged-on to her Facebook account to show the hashtag they created for their wedding #Rolo2017. “That’s the hashtag everyone puts when they upload a photo related to our wedding. Look, so we got so many photos here all under #Rolo2017- Rohit+Polo” said Polo proudly.
As the video played, a series of flashback played through her mind, and she started laughing and then explained, “According to Hindu tradition, the bride and groom are not supposed to see each other before the wedding. But because of some time clash, Rohit and I landed up in the same room. So I literally had to hide my face and run away in sari.”
Polo had choosen her accessories and jewellery an year in advance. she had tried it all up, even the makeup and hairstyle “but on reception venue, somehow the Ghagra (skirt) felt too loose for me to i had to pin it up at last moment and then all good,” said Polo thanking God.
Polo’s eyes teared up as the video came towards the end, Rohit however held Polo’s hand firm and supported her. Polo was missing her family as she mentioned, “During my Vidaai (bidding good bye) everyone was so much in a hurry, that I went up to my mum to tell her that we were leaving and she just said ok bye!”. Rohit and Polo started laughing as they knew that the Vidaai ceremony is usually where people end up crying, but that wasn’t the case at their wedding. Polo and Rohit left the venue with a huge smile on their face to welcome their new phase of life.
Summer is just around the corner, get into your shorts and flip-flops ready with inflatable pool toys and icy poles. It’s that time of the year again to go to the beautiful beaches, get sun-tanned and plan barbeque parties. Sitting by the pool side you can wait for that one cool breeze to calm you down from the heat.
“Summer is the best season, but when the mercury hits 34 degrees it just feels like walking in the oven”, says Saumya while wearing sunnies on her way to school. Melbourne is blessed to have a range of getaway places where you can go to beat the scorching summer heat. From spending a splendid evening at the Yarra river and going to different beaches, to hiking trails to Olinda falls and Dandenong ranges you will be able to experience instant temperature drop.
Australia has a natural beauty of its own to please you during summer. However, the temperatures can be drastically different in all parts. The reasons for this are well studied by the Bureau of Meteorology (BoM). They predict whether we might witness heat wave or a sudden cool change. Certainly, dry summer days are a kind of invitation for heat waves and droughts leading to increase the number of wild fires.
Andrew Williams, Emergency Management Coordinator at Knox city council advices, “It is extremely essential to understand the climate drivers. Everyone must keep an eye on fire danger ratings and be aware of their surroundings.”
Australia’s strongest Climate driver is El Niño Southern Oscillation (ENSO). All parts of the world are affected by ENSO as it swings naturally between three key phases, La Niña, neutral and El Niño. La Niña and El Niño are exact opposites of each other and generally needs four years to completely shift from either. The changes in the ocean water temperature because of steady winds blowing from east to west or other way – known as Walker Cycle – causes either La Niña and El Niño. Steady trade winds carry cool air to the east and pile up warm water in the western Pacific Ocean causing more clouds and rain, further leading to floods in Australians territories. This phenomenon of stronger trade winds is called La Niña which usually starts in the first half of the year and lasts until the following autumn. Whereas, El Niño causes droughts and heat waves because of weaker trade winds. However, these phenomena can sometimes have different results. “La Niña can also increase the chance of prolonged warm spells for southeast Australia”, Ellis Blandford, meteorologist.
With La Niña, bushfires often occur and affects large areas devastating properties, human and animal life. Dry grass and dry trees rub against each other and ignite, it spreads around rapidly and creates darkness around. Whereas, with El Niño, rains and especially lightning creates wildfires. “My uncles house got burned down in black Saturday bushfires, but thank God for he was rescued by CFA. The next day I went there and there was nothing left”, Purshottam Chattre explained the intensity of the fire that Victoria had never witnessed before.
Country Fire Authority (CFA) is an organisation which assists Victorians during fire emergencies. BoM updates fire danger periods on their website on daily basis, which helps people in the zone understand that there would be a potential fire danger. CFA plays a vital role in training the local residents to be ready for fire. “We try our best to help everyone get out safe from fire. Be it a natural or man-made fire, we believe that your life is more important than your property, so you must evacuate when we advise you to. With the use of technology, we can understand the intensity of fire even better. All you need to do is be calm and cooperate”, Shubham Shingote, CFA volunteer.
Bush fire spreads quickly and widely, leaving huge smoke behind. The moto of CFA is to guide people before, during and after the fires.
news in Knox leader about the upcoming fire danger
Things to check on before the fire period-
Are you in or near the fire zone?
Cleaned your area right before the danger period?
Packed an emergency kit bag?
Check your insurance papers?
Have you made an emergency evacuation plan?
Consult your local authorities to assess your property for fire?
“My unit doesn’t lie in the danger zone, so I was a bit laid back, but last summer I saw bushfire from my deck and was super scared. I didn’t know what to do! Luckily my neighbours were all prepared so they helped me out on that day. But this year I have personally taken CFA training just to be safe”, Ashwini Deshpande, resident of Blackburn.
Things to do during the fire-
Obey the instructions of the CFA volunteer.
Gather your belongings and get your family together.
If evacuation is necessary, then take your family and escape immediately.
Keep calm and hope for the best.
Most of the times the fire devastates on a large scale. CFA and Metropolitan Fire Brigade (MFB) volunteers try to relieve people from trauma. “Even though I thought I was ready for the fire, it just shook me and my wife when it actually happened. Knox volunteers rescued us and even gave us water and spare clothes for my 2-year-old daughter”, Rushi Shah, local Knox city resident.
After the fire-
Take care of your family and neighbours, try to cope with trauma.
Wait in the safety room till the volunteers tell that the fire is under control.
Take advice from your local architects and builders to get the house back to normal.
We need to be ahead of time and understand the Australian weather well to be safe. Make perfect plans for escaping the fire danger well in advance and get yourself bush-fire trained. Keep an eye out on the BoM website or emergency website to get updates about the danger period. The changing climatic conditions affect the nature drastically, so Victorians can take steps towards safety. So, do you think you are fire ready?
Are you writing a story using a lot of videos, photos and illustrations? Then don’t forget to abide by the rules!
We all follow certain ethics or moral principles even as a common man. Media Entertainment And Arts Alliance (MEAA) , Australian Communications and Media Authority (ACMA) and Society of Professional Journalists (SPJ) have set up guidelines for a Multimedia or a mobile journalist.
In order to fulfil the public responsibilities, we as a journalist need to convey the ideas truthfully and make the best use of this privileged role as a communicator.
My teacher recommended to read ‘The Secret’. I am not a person who actually likes to read, but I still went ahead and brought the book home. The logo and the name interested me so much that I read the book start to end. And I still follow it and see the results on every step of my life. So I have many stories to narrate.
Grade 10 exams were around the, preparations for the test were done. Being a average student, everyone was giving me tips to score better. I was studying with complete dedication and was ready to take the final exam. My confidence was low. So I read ‘The Secret’ and understood the concept of give it to the universe, and universe gives it back to you.
I stuck a note on my wall which read-
I will score 90% Thank You
I just looked at that note daily after waking up and before going to bed. I soon started believing that I will seriously get 90% and worked hard towards my goal.
Believe it or not. I scored 90.18% in my SSC Board exams in India. The Secret revealed that day. My happiness knew no bound.
Then I decided to follow The Secret everyday. I attained much more self confidence and now I believe in myself.
I successfully completed my graduation after that, got best of university and college, I got admission into the college which I wanted from the bottom of my heart.
I got a job when I needed. I completed Diploma course and a language course. At times I would be scared but then I would simply re read the book as it always gives me solutions to the issues. All I kept in mind it that we need to believe that we can do it. And that made me succeed in everything that I tried to undertake.
During the same period, I got the whole of my family into reading and then following The Secret. They too love the book as it is extremely inspiring.
Again for the masters studies it was my dream to go to a foreign country and get education. I was thinking to get into the June intake in Australian university. The counsellors said that it would not be easy to get into the university in June since I was applying in late March. Other students were already done with their exams and interviews regarding the admission process.
I made it clear to my mind that I want to do it. My father said that it would be difficult to support the expenses and then I was really worried. It was totally not possible to go to a foreign country without having money.
I didn’t lose hope. I told my dad that I would at least give exam and then lets see what can be done. He supported me with my decision. I took up the studies and passed with great marks. I also got admission in Australian University.
It was the time to pay fees. I told my counsellor that I cannot go ahead with the idea since we don’t have money. She suggested me to take educational loan which I didn’t want to. I still had not lost hopes. I thought to myself that something will happen somewhere and things will fall in correct place. I believed my dream would come true.
One day I received a call from Australian University saying that they would like to offer me scholarship. I almost jumped with joy. It was totally unbelievable thing that had happened.
Everything started seeming beautiful. I thanked the God ‘The Universe’ for giving me what I wanted.
I realized that if you believe, then anything can happen. We can probably even push the wall with our dedication and faith.
Thank You for everything. The Secret has changed my way of life.
It was the day when my Mum underwent an operation. The nurses took her inside the operation theater. It was a complete FOUR hour operation. We prayed to the almighty God hoping everything goes perfect. And then they closed the doors and the red light was switched on. Tension started building up. Smile from my face was converted into panic.
Suddenly today morning those bitter memories flashed my eyes as I realized that the event had completed an year now. I am grateful to God for my mother is now in pink of health and evergreen spirit.
Thinking back to that day I still get Goosebumps. It was a day when I had panicked a lot. That had actually led to my mum getting tensed as well. So I decided to stay calm and firm at least in front of her but behind that mask was my face, really really scared face.
I now realizes that panicking and worrying is like a rocking chair, it keeps you moving but takes you no where.
When panicked, I barely can do anything right. I start jumbling word, my mind starts running into things that are worse than the current situation and everything gets rather more difficult when I panic.
You can see, there are various methods to get over the panicky situations. Doing Yoga also help. I have understood that we need to accept whatever the situation throws towards us. We cannot undo things so at least we can try and anticipate or take steps to do some curative things after a situation.
All I do now is close my eyes, tell myself that this has occurred and I have to face it and I will sail through it. Then my mind starts believing it and it becomes rather easy for me to find a way out of that problem.
Be it whatever, I shall face it with all my strength. There is no use crying as we can hardly do anything to undo what happens, but we can certainly take steps to ensure that it doesn’t happen again.
I have learnt a lot from every situation that comes up. Panicking will lead me nowhere is truth. So better face it and be calm rather than affecting your mental health.
A yummy cake is generally loved by all age groups. People have been baking cakes since a long time. Initially it was difficult to differentiate between cake and bread e.g. Banana Bread can be though of to be a cake. In ancient Rome, basic bread dough was sometimes enriched with butter, eggs, and honey, which produced a sweet and cake-like baked good.
Don’t worry if you have diabetes, even you can have a cake. There are sugar-free and eggless cakes available. Cannot finish up a huge cake? then you may opt for pastries or cupcakes. Today we have more than 100 tasty flavors of cakes also it can be cooked without an oven now!
Be it a birthday Party or a Wedding ceremony, cake plays a vital role in it all.
Different cake decorations makes the cake look attractive. Edible colors are used so that it doesn’t harm anyone. Shops offer variety of cakes but you can choose to make it yourself. You can bake a cake all by yourself from scratch or just use a CAKE MIX which is also available in the market.
Again! Don’t worry if you don’t know the recipe of your favorite cake, just hop online. YouTube has a lot of videos for you beginners recipe or even a chefs recipe its all up there!
So have fun making a cake now and enjoy it as a dessert!
We regularly see news on Facebook, Twitter etc. as they are the fastest modes of communication now. Social media is a major news source for almost everyone. Journalists are affected because of this in several was. Live video streaming can be done by anyone and so the Journalists- Watchdogs have no power left to control the dissemination of news.
Journalists themselves have started adapting to these changes. After realizing the growing trend in the use of social media for getting news, Newspapers set up apps to go online.Newspapers are seen to publish and broadcast news online. New newsroom practices are being followed. The line between a common man and a Journalist is blurring as people can use a phone and broadcast everything live.
But social media as a news source can at times even be dangerous as it lacks research. Some hoax stories go viral within minutes and the poor audience believes it to be the truth. Social media news is unfiltered and goes to the audience directly.
Journalists have to take a step forward and see what is on social media, research about it and then write a story to get make the correct news reach the audience.
When a video is broadcasted on a TV news show, then may the people watching the news may not be interested in that video, and even if they are interested, they cannot go back and like, share, comment or view it more than once. But streaming of videos online, helps it reach the specific target audience who would love to share their thoughts then and there.
LIVE VIDEO STREAMING EFFECTS credits: kasturi vaidya
Journalists are the ones who are supposed to be disseminating news to the public. But because of Live Streaming on Social networking sites, anyone can share the news as an event. The traditional way of writing and then publishing is now changing as audience demands more.
Even Journalists are adapting to this new popular form of news distribution. Newsrooms have special access to internet to broadcast the videos live. The world is growing and becoming faster using technology.
Australia is a multicultural country. But do you still have to think before moving to Australia?
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Indian people came into Australia to seek education or jobs. Being new to a place makes one inquisitive about that land and culture and they want to be like others. But people belonging to different religions wear different clothing and that can be having an effect on the perception. Again, if one does not know English well, then there comes in a problem of communication.
Saumya Vaidya, student, exclaimed, “I don’t face discrimination because I look like an Aussie!”
Most of the Indian children who were born and brought up here or came with their parents in an early stage, don’t face as much racism as a person who has just arrived. Hence it seems that the younger generation of Indian Australians do not face racism. Being an Australian citizen by birth does make a difference. The way of life changes and then you seem to be the one from the troop.
Back in the year 2009 a few Indian-Australians faced racial discrimination. Attacks and murders had shaken up both, Australia and India. Not just Indian students but also Indian taxi drivers and the general public were then scared of being in and coming to Australia. Indian students were suggested not to take up Australia as a country for further studies.
Racism could be faced at any place, be it a supermarket or an office. But now that people are more aware about everything, they have taken this seriously and do not tolerate this crime of discrimination. The law also protects individuals to maintain a balance of fair trial to all.
Years later, treaties and negotiations were made, Australia tried to rebuild its reputation. Australia took strong actions against racism and regained its value. There are many organizations which protect the interests of the people. They try to spread the values of being together and also impose it into the minds of the people. These local and government organization fight against racism and discrimination in all ways to get justice.
World getting together
Indian- Australians
At times the local community groups try to spread the values and try to solve issues at the roots. Now the government takes up the initiative to help such community groups and looks after India Australia relations. Indian-Australians are now gaining a better place in Australia.
Even though the Indian-Australians faced racism at some point of time in their life. Some of them raised the issues and got them clarified, but some couldn’t be successful. Most of them have had the best time of their life in Australia, but some people still bare those bitter memories in their minds.
The older generation faced racism may be in 2009 as well. They are now trying to protect their children from facing those effects. Indians are keen to deepen the cultural ties with Australia. Indian festivals are celebrated to depict the culture of India. Australia too is now happy to offer grants to support Indian festivals. The Australia India Travel & Tourism Council (AITTC) is also doing its best to increase tourism and trade in Australia and India.
To a Indian joint family in Australia
From School in Australia
Racism doesn’t have a specific religion or reason. Anyone can be racist or can face racism any time. It depends on the psychology of that individual. Racism would not stop completely unless we all change the way of thinking. We need to take up steps ourselves to stop racism.
In order to be one world, we must walk all the walks of life together. Australia is currently on the way to build up healthy relations with India. Now Indian-Australians will gain respect as Australia is set to eliminate racism.
KasturiVaidya 