WHAT’S ON

Festival

Lohri mela

Sun 19 Jan (4.00pm onwards)

Enjoy the festivities of Lohri with Punjabi Club of Victoria at Lohri mela. Cultural shows, DJ, Punjabi food stalls and a lot more. At Mt Waverley Community Centre, 47 Miller Cres., Mount Waverley.

Details 0411 710 194.

Officer Gurudwara

18-20 Jan Sri Guru Nanak Durbar inauguration (33 Officer Road, Officer) and celebration of Guru Gobind Singh Ji's Gurpurab. Akhand Path Sahib Arambh followed by Bhog and Kirtan. Langar Sewa on all 3 days. Pick up available from Officer station. Details www.sgnd.com.au

Exhibition

Visions of Paradise

Till Apr 26 (10.00am – 5.00pm)

The exhibition features a selection of works from a major 1980 Felton Bequest acquisition of over 270 paintings that document the princely lifestyles of the Rajput courts of Bikaner, Marwar (Jodhpur), Jaipur, Kotar and Mewar (Udaipur). At NGV International, 180 St Kilda Road. Details www.ngv.vic.gov.au

Music

Haadu Baa Kogile

Melbourne’s first ever Kannada musical event held every last Saturday of the month. All welcome. Organised by Ankura Music School. Details 0432 192 424

The Indian Music Collective Melbourne

The Indian Music Collective Melbourne provides space for practice/jamming in a friendly environment for musicians to meet and practice. Anyone who plays a Hindustani classical music instrument or can sing Hindustani classical music at any ability/level is welcome at St John’s Catholic Primary School, 77 Queens Parade, Clifton Hill. Listeners are also welcome. Gold coin to contribute towards tea/coffee/snack costs.

Contact Harjinder Bhogal at oldmanindia@gmail.com

Community

Indian Professionals in Victoria (IPV) A not-for-profit, membershipbased and member-owned association that aims to train and support Indian professionals and entrepreneurs through workshops, seminars, webinars and mentoring programs. Membership details www.ipv.org.au

Indian Community Mental Health Support Group

For families and carers both who are experiencing mental health concerns. Every First Friday of the month. From 2.00pm-4.30pm. At Yarra Plenty Reginal Library (Mill Park Library), 394 Plenty Rd, Mill Park.

Details Carer helpline 1300 554 660 or email carers@mindaustralia. org.au

Let’s Feed

A volunteer-driven campaign and fundraising group working to organise activities, source food and deliver it to different agencies and also assist family violence victims with food related needs. Let’s Feed fills food-related gaps in existing services using micro donations. Let’s Feed collects non-perishable food from local groups at temples, participating grocery stores and delivers to Youth Resource Centre, Asylum Seekers Resource Centre and

Matrimonials

Seeking Grooms

Seeking professionally qualified match for Brahmin, vegetarian girl born in 1985, and working as a doctor in Sydney. The family are well settled in Sydney and prefer boy with Australian citizenship or PR. Please contact aussyd08@gmail.com

Well-settled/professional match invited for Sydney-based Punjabi girl, IT professional/business analyst, never-married, 44/5'6"; attractive, fair, jolly nature and a good mix of Indian and modern values. Working in an MNC. Australian citizen. Educated family. Parents well settled. Send details with photo: sydgirl09@gmail.com

Wanted a suitable match for 39 year old Brahmin girl 5’-4’’ fair complexion well settled in Australia having government job and has own residential property. Contact kumar. sham@bigpond.com other agencies. Visit: letsfeed.org or email: jasvinder.sidhu@letsfeed.org

Indian Young Women’s Group Fridays 12.30pm-2.30pm

The Indian Young Women’s Group is organised free by Wyndham Community and Education Centre (Wyndham CEC) every Friday afternoon at the Wyndham Park Primary School, Community Hub Room, Kookaburra Avenue, Werribee. Contact the Wyndham Community and Education Centre, 3 Princes Highway Werribee, wyndhamcec.org.au or call 03 9742 4013

Language

Gurukul Hindi Classes Saturdays

11.00am-12.00 noon

Connections@Craigieburn, 59 Craigieburn Road, Craigieburn VIC 3064. These weekly classes are taught by Manisha Gard and Bhupinder Kahlon. Contact Narinder Garg 0431 123 045 or infothegurukul@gmail.com

Let’s Talk: Conversational English Saturdays 10.00am11.30am

Practice and develop your English speaking skills in a relaxed small group that has a warm and friendly atmosphere. Meet every Saturday at Werribee Church of Christ, 200 Tarneit Road, Werribee. This is for people who want to gain confidence and practice their English. All are welcome to attend, morning tea is provided and it’s free. Contact 03 9741 6051 or visit werribeechurchofchrist.org

Pronunciation Workshop

1st Sunday of the month

12.00 noon – 3.00pm

Are you learning English as a second language and are interested in working on your pronunciation? Join Kaled – a friendly ESL (English as a Second Language) expert who will help you work on your English language skills for free at the Library at The Dock, Activities Room, 107 Victoria Harbour Promenade, Docklands.

University

Australia India Institute’s Drop in Chai

First Friday of every month (2.00pm to 3.00pm)

Come chat to other South Asia enthusiasts over samosa and chai and catch up on what different people are doing in relation to India (feel free to bring announcements or new publications!).The chai and conversation is free and open to students, staff, faculty, and members of the public at Upstairs Seminar Room, Australia India Institute 147-149 Barry St, Carlton. Details 03 9035 8047 or visit www.aii.unimelb.edu.au

Misc

Sari sale

12-28 Jan Kay Collections is holding a two-week sale of Chanderi, Linen, Kota and Cotton sarees at The Vicarage, 4 Charlemont Lane, Olinda. Details Kushma Ram 0401 526 133

Entertainment

Goa Full Moon Party

27 Jan At the Ceown, 8 Whiteman St, Southbank. Details info@ bollywoodclub.com.au

To add your event email media@indianlink.com.au

Seeking Brides

Indian Muslim man, 43 years old, divorced, lawyer, Australian citizen, based in Sydney, seeking a practising Muslim bride below 35 years of age. Contact: 0424 457 180.

Indian Christian Protestant parents seeking a suitable match for their 38-year-old son, a software engineer, born and brought up in Australia. Seeking Protestant girl between 28 and 34. years. Email: sammy5073@gmail. com or call 0403 836 360.

Suitable match for handsome, 1986born, 5’7”, Mair Rajput Goldsmith boy (Punjab born), Australian citizen. Working as a manager in Melbourne. Caste no bar. Please share bio and photos on Whatsapp 0470 388 064 or email: ronr275@yahoo.com.au

Wanted suitable match for 35 year old Brahmin boy 5’-8’’, fair complexion well settled in Australia having his own successful business. Contact kumar.sham@bigpond.com

BY DIPANJALI RAO

Ayoung boy, aged about 7, is playing with his toys. He’s set up a small toy classroom, and has just finished the play roll call when his father walks in.

The father looks at his son and asks, in a loving tone, “Beta, what do you want to be when you’re grown up?”

“A teacher,” the boy replies.

The father pauses, then asks, “Sir or madam?”

The child hesitates, and then in a soft tone says, “Madam”.

The film Ek Aasha (Hope), symbolises this hope that young trans-girl Ashish has, of becoming a teacher.

Its Melbourne-based writer, co-producer and director Mayur Katariya won the ‘Best First Time Filmmaker’ award at the Australia Independent Film Festival in Brisbane recently.

In the film, Ashish struggles with her gender identity from a young age, and dreams of growing up and being a teacher just like her teacher at school, wearing a red salwar kameez, pretty earrings and lipstick. Bullied at school for being girly and effeminate, and berated and abused at home by her mother for wanting to be a girl like her sister, her only support is her classmate and best friend, who is also a transgender girl. Ashish’s father, though sympathetic and reasonably progressive (he takes Ashish to see a doctor as opposed to the local spiritual leader) seems unable to give Ashish the support she needs.

The film charts Ashish’s struggle as a young child and her transition to being a woman. Ashish leaves home to join the kinnar or transgender community, where she is welcomed generously by the guru and is given the name Aasha. They take care of Aasha and teach her the skills she requires to be a part of their community, which involve collecting money from local businesses and blessing marriages and new-born babies.

Aasha is educated and wants to be a teacher, but as she says in the movie, most transgender people in India aren’t even literate, much less able to pursue dreams such a teaching.

The film follows Aasha’s trials and tribulations, experiences of acceptance and rejection, love and heartbreak. While doing this, it attempts to educate the audience about the of the kinnar community in India – their long history as a part of Indian society, religion and mythology, their sudden change in status when they were criminalised by colonial law, their experiences of violence and exploitation, and the Indian government’s recent moves to grant them equal rights.

Katariya shot the film over 45 days in Surat, Gujarat, his home town.

The cinematography is rich and captivating and makes the film a visual treat, matched by sharp music. Most importantly, all the transgender roles are played by nonactor transwomen, with Disha Yadav, a young transwoman from Mumbai, in the lead role. The film advocates for education and work rights for transgender people, so it was on principle that Katariya wanted the actors to all be transgender.

“I wanted to create roles for transpeople,” he tells Indian Link