Comic cheer with Indi and ozzie

The CIA’s entertainment evening to celebrate January 26 brought together politicians and the community

The Council of Indian Australians (CIA) has come a long way since its inception just over three years ago. Since that time, despite internal leadership ructions, the organisation has made some meaningful contributions to the local Indian community.

Celebrating India’s Republic Day and Australia Day, and taking on the mantle of educating the community on the issues of domestic violence as one of its missions for 2013 is indeed to be applauded. Subba Rao Varigonda and his energetic team are emerging as an organisation with a conscience and will help fill a much-felt void in the community.

With over 400 people present at its annual celebration of two important events in the Indian and Australian calendars – India’s Republic Day and Australia Day, the highlight was the entertainment for the evening, conceived and put together by well-known Sydneysider, Sanjeev Mehra.

Mehra, a Bollywood veteran with over 35 years in the film industry teamed up with the very talented Neeru Singh. Neeru as ‘Indi’ and Mehra as ‘Aussie’, both dressed in traditional Marathi costumes, took the audience through a fun filled hour, bringing forth issues between the cultures of both countries. The dialogues were clever and funny, and despite a few sound issues, had the audience in splits. This was definitely one of the best entertainment sections seen for a while in local Indian functions. Interspersed were songs from Vinod Rajput, particularly his clever take on the popular Australian chant “Ozzie, Ozzie, Ozzie” and others; while Mohit Kumar, Priya Rao and Ajay Ghosh; dances from Road to Bollywood; and Tamil dance groups kept the audience entertained.

Politicians from both sides were present to show their support for the Indian community’s celebrations. Michelle Rowland MP, Member for Greenway, representing Ms Julia Gillard, Prime Minister of Australia; Ms Louis Markus MP, Federal Member for Macquarie representing the Tony Abbott, Leader of the Opposition; the Victor Dominello, MP, Minister for Aboriginal Affairs and Minister for Citizenship and Communities representing the Barry O’Farrell, Premier of NSW; the John Robertson, MP, Member for Blacktown and leader of the NSW Opposition; Nihal Gupta, Chair of the NSW Multicultural Business Advisory Panel were present. Also, adding a cricketing flavour to the evening was Geoff ‘Henry’ Lawson, test cricketer, former captain of NSW cricket team, and former coach for the Pakistan Cricket Control Board.

In her address, Michelle Rowland spoke of the growing number of Indian-born Australians in Blacktown, and the importance which Australia places on India, reinforced by the Prime Minister’s Asian Century paper. With the election’s in September and Rowland’s slender hold on her seat of Greenway, it was a good opportunity for her to be seen out and about in the community. Louis Markam also laid down the Liberal party’s intentions for the Indian community at the function, emphasising that it was her party under John Howard who had wanted to sell uranium to India as they had full faith in India’s responsible handling of this resource. Victor Dominello, with boyish charm, had the listeners captivated as he spoke about his fascination with India and the time he has spent there. He also reaffirmed his leader’s faith in India by confirming that later this year, Premier O’Farrell will undertake his third visit to India in so many years.

CIA President Subba Rao Varigonda spoke about the shared interest in the Indian Ocean and stability and prosperity of the Indo-Pacific region. He also noted the brutal rape incident in Delhi in December, and the guests stood in silence as a mark of respect.

CIA shared the evening with ‘SIMaid’, a charity organisation that assists in rescuing girls off the street and provides safe homes in India and the rest of the world. Part of the ticket sales and proceeds from a raffle netting $1,350 were donated to the organisation. Madeline Laxroix, senior manager from the Department of Family and Community Services also spoke about the issue of domestic violence and urged the community to speak out against it.

At the function, as a part of its Rising Star Awards program, the CIA honoured a number of high achievers at the HSC 2012 examinations. The students felicitated included Shruti Yardi, Sandhya Srinivasan, Bhavya Nanda, Nikhil Kankarla, Jostana Raghavulu, Jainoor Kaur Rana and Megh Mankad.

While the speeches and the messages were rather drawn out, the ambiance of the function was well appreciated by all. What needs to be applauded is the team which Subba Rao has created in this organisation, with Praful

Desai, Shail Wadhwa, Balu Vijay, Rakesh Puri, Jaspreet Chopra, Tony Calaco, Ashish Desai

Anupam Sharma’s place of choice was 3000 strong community of Coonabarabran in Warrumbungle Shire of northern NSW.

“Country Australia has always been so appealing to me. The landscape and the scenery are quite breathtaking. I have done location surveys in this region (thanks to Screen NSW), have filmed in Dubbo, as well as in many regional areas of Australia and NSW, so I jumped at the opportunity to visit such a friendly and beautiful region again,” he explained.

“To be an Australia Day Ambassador in Coonabarabran which has been ravaged by bush fires, and engage with the locals, was even more poignant”, he added.

“The whole experience was so fulfilling. It was like a cherry on my cake. I was supposed to be an Ambassador but felt more like an apprentice learning from the community, their amazing spirit of mateship, of volunteer work, and humanity which is fast eroding in the hustle bustle of big cities but refreshingly alive in small towns,” he acknowledged. It was so touching that despite having faced so much hardship barely the week before, the whole community rallied around for Australia Day, he pointed. While he was moved by camaraderie and hospitality of the country region, one woman certainly made a lasting impression on the respected filmmaker. “The conductor of the local band was particularly bubbly and enthusiastic, making sure I was well looked after. I saw her at the breakfast meeting and again at several functions throughout the day. When I finally got talking much later, I found out, she had lost everything in the recent fire. Yet she was warm and welcoming. This struck a deep chord. This is the true spirit of Australia,” he remarked.

“Australia Day may have started primarily to celebrate the arrival of the first fleet, but over the years it has developed into a celebration of all things Australians for all of us migrants,” he added.

Sharma who was recently named as one of the 50 most powerful and influential film professionals in Australia by the prestigious Encore Magazine took part in a range of activities throughout the day, including flag hoisting and citizenship ceremonies.

Addressing the community gathering earlier, Sharma stated, “It is your resilience and Aussie spirit which makes the terrible fires of last week look like history. It is your Aussie spirit which won.”

Usha Ramanujam Arvind