1 minute read
Up close and personal with PM Tony Abbott
from 2013-10 Melbourne
by Indian Link
PL: Your favourite order at an Indian restaurant?
TA: Lamb rogan josh, chicken tikka, beef Bombay and prawn masala because he managed to lead his people in a great struggle, and he did what he could to ensure that the struggle was peaceful.
PL: Ever cooked something Indian?
TA: I used to cook a reasonable curry, but these days my wife tries to keep me out of the kitchen.
PL: An Indian book you have read that’s made an impression?
TA: I haven’t had enough time to read lately. There has been an extraordinary proliferation of Indian literature in English over the last couple of decades, and I’m probably not as up with it as I should be, so I’ll probably pass on this question, but I did have a go at Vikram Seth’s, A Suitable Boy, and I must confess I didn’t really like it much. That’s probably a comment on me, on my busy work, but I confess I didn’t get through it.
PL: Seen any Indian films?
TA: Again, when I was in India I watched some Bollywood films. They weren’t really my type, but like everyone else, I watched Slumdog Millionaire and I loved it.
PL: An outstanding memory from your time spent in India?
TA: I guess apart from the colours, the sounds, the extraordinary work of the Jesuits, probably my strongest memory is just the readiness of the ordinary Indian to engage with me. You couldn’t walk 10 yards without being basically hailed and talked to, and maybe it was because in those days, a white face in the street was a rare thing. Maybe it was because they just wanted to practise their English on me, but I certainly had an amazing time there.
PL: Or maybe they saw a fair dinkum fellow in you over there...
TA: (Laughing) Well, I’d like to think that I was a fair dinkum fellow but I guess at that point in time they may not have known that.
PL: India – Australia relationship future?
PL: An Indian word you know?
TA: Well ‘khaki,’ as I understand it, is an English word derived from India.
TA: Well look, I want to do everything I reasonably can to build a better relationship between Australia and India because this will be good for India, but it will be very, very good for Australia.
