REVIEW

youth in the organisation as ell as in attendance as articularly commenda le. t as the smaller niche e ents ut together y grassroots efforts rather than the larger organisations that on the day.

Community trends

The Government of India’s changes to the OCI card caused some chaos as travellers ere re ented from tra el at chec in. The confusion continued as clear-cut information as not immediately a aila le forcing harried tra ellers to ta e emergency isitors isas. Domestic and family violence continued to e on the agenda es ecially ith the horrific murder of dentist Preeti Reddy, allegedly at the hands of a former artner. ean hile health concerns too their lace on the agenda sho ing increased impact, community health initiative Pink ari too on a ne cam aign this time against o el cancer. n another trend families ith s ecial needs mem ers are also beginning to associate and advocate collecti ely for ser ices.

Seniors’ issues, particularly elder abuse, dementia and the need for culture-specific retirement facilities, are also claiming the s otlight and ill ste u in the near future

In education, a commendable trend is the increased take up of Indian languages at our schools. ( e e had more re orts in Indian Link this year than ever before, of Indianthemed celebrations at our public schools, focusing on oli i ali and andhi.)

The restaurant scene sa interesting trends hile leading eateries an it s at the harf and r an Tad a held s ay for their fi e star dining e eriences as ell as their strengths in outdoor catering, eat street in arris ar sa the cro ds throng in, especially for its communityfriendly casual late night i e.

The arts egarding the erforming arts hile the theatre scene has gro n ith increased participants, perhaps the same cannot be said in terms of im act. nstead the dance scene seems to ha e ic ed u ith some stellar presentations this year (Hamsa Venkat’s Abhigyanam Shakuntalam, asti ance s Taj Mahal ). hat has impressed most though, has been the flashes of brilliance in mainstream entertainment ith young ndian origin creati es a ing the ay ( a itha Anandasivam of SBS TV’s The Hunting; t ins ed and rund ao and riter Mithila Gupta in ABC Me’s The Unlisted; musicians arts and The ion riya errao as iss ustralia). rom the usiness orld atya adella and ndra ooyi ere high rofile isitors. Writer William Dalrymple dropped in on the ay to at delaide aying us a isit at Indian Link.

In film, good to see some great samples of ‘thinking’ Hindi films felicitated in the mainstream here. ano a ayee claimed his second APSA for Bhonsle, and the critically acclaimed Andhadhun and Gully Boy scored T nominations for est sian ilm.

Celebrity visitors hah u h han led the cele s at the Indian Film Festival of Melbourne this year, seducing the audiences at multiple a earances such as at the o ening at a Trobe University and in the mainstream media. eedless to say social media as hah struc . s e ected other in itees aled some hat in the ac ground ith the ossi le e ce tion of Ta u aran ohar alai a rora and i ay ethu athi.

The Indian cricket team brought much cheer for the fans early in the year ith their historic test series ictory.

Other highlights included singers Sonu igam and and actors ee ti a al and areena a oor in successful small scale e ents.

Taking stock of these highlights, it’s clear that in the community as a u ith acti ities of interest and causes to s ea u for. s e start a hole ne decade in a fe ee s time here s ho ing e can gi e etter direction to the trends that ill see us e ol e etter as a community and ta e ac to the dra ing oard that hich arrants a closer loo .

I NDIAN L INK’ S E VENT O F THE Y EAR : L ITTLE I NDIA D IWALI

The annual i ali e ent organised by the Council of ndian ustralians ( ) and the Harris Park Business Forum, is our ic for the ent of the ear. fresh a roach to i ali celebrations in our community, it sees Wigram St, the main thoroughfare in Harris Park, loc ed off to tra c and ta en o er y i ali re ellers. o ens of stalls line the street offering the est the region has to offer in terms of food as ell as mainstream companies like oles. on sto cultural sho s on stage and late night fire or s com lete the i ali feel. ncluded this year as a light procession to mark the esti al of ights. Held for the third year this year the e ent has gro n impressively in design, e ecution and im act.