henthe Kemchhos cametoOz

On being vegetarian and Hindu in 1970s Australia, and how the Garba was launched

BY PAWAN LUTHRA

Youknow,whenIcame to Ausrralia in 1970,1 thoughtI hadcomecoheaven,"Harshad Desai says."And 45 yearslater, I stillbelieve Iaminheaven!"

Nowyoumight sayi[is i11teresting wbeara devoutHjndutalking about heaven(andhell), butDesai, a wellknown Gujarati communitystalwartin Sydney,recoumsa number of timesinthe newbook he recemlylaunched,thatthe Aus[raliatharhecametointl1e1970s was welcomingof people from allfaiths.

Desai, whoalongwith Sona! (Shah) Moore and SaminandAshakNathwani hasproduced abookentitledEar!JGujarati Jv[igrationto Australia, spoketoIndianLink about bisearlyexperiences.

"1camehere justasthe\117hiteAustralia policywasbeingphasedoutand sothe localAustraliancommunitywas keen wmee[peoplefromotherparts of tl1e world," berecaJJs.

"Theywereaskeentoknowmoreabout ourculmresaswewereabouttl1eirs.Inface, some of myhappiestmemoriesof myearly daysareof theinteractions myfamilyandI hadwithmyboss,MrClarke.Hewouldtake usoutfordrivesontheweekendsand [hen inviteushomeforlunches and dinners. \�'e'revegetariansand hiswifestruggled cocookforustill I convincedherthatwe werehappywithcheeseandsaladsandit wasacmallytlieirhospitalityandcompany which weenjoyed."

These early stories provide afascinating insightintowhatlifewas likeinthe 1970s and'80sAustralia. \Vhileitis110w generallytakenforgtanted that there iseasyavailabilityof spices anddais,in thosetimesthere were justacoupleof shops in Sydney which usedto stock these essentials. Forgetd1e paneer,evenyoghurt, orcurd asInruans knowit, was unheardof. 'TherewerejusttwoIndianrestaurantsin Sydney,andBollywood movies,whichnow can be seen on the same day of release as inIndia,took months toreachAustralia.

Of course,theycameinlargespools.Kati Patangwasthefirst Hindifilm to beshown inAustralia.

"Yet,weacceptedtheserealities aspart of ourlives.Whatwemissedwasmore thanmadeupin the camaraderie and friendshjps whichwe formed inthe earlier days."

"Weworked hard to keep our traditions alive.In 1972, garbawascelebratedthe

,, In 1972, garbawas celebratedthe first time inAustralia atthehome ofDrGunuNakar. The 14-16people there had a greattime. Afar cryfrom the numerous annual events heldthese days, where thousands gather at giant sports halls ,, firsttime inAustralia at diehomeof Dr GunnNakarandthe l4-16peoplethere had agreatti.me. In 1973,wecelebrated garba atmy own homein Ptmchbowl and Gujarati families travelled from allover NS\XTtoSydney.That'showthetradition of Navratricelebrationswasborn. ltis pleasingcoseehowtl1egarba, whichwas firstenjoyedinsomeone'sbackyard,now has [housandsof peopleenjoyingin giant sports balls,"Desai writes in thebook.

Thegarba,aformof folk danci_ng performed duringthe Navratrifestival,is anessentialelementof Gujaraticulture.

Keepingtheir religious beliefsstrong was important totheGujurati settlers and the SriMandir Society was startedin 1976. Irtooka fewyears forthesocietytobe formalised.Three devotees,DrAnand,Dr Prabhu and Dr Shankar, actingasTrustees, purchasedthepropertyat286Cumberland Road,AuburnfromtheSalvationArmy for$34,000.Andsothefirstever Hindu templeinAustraliawas established.

SonalShah,oneof thecomributors tothebook (who claimstobe theErst Gujarati borninAustralia) recountstales of how tl1eearly families fromSrdneyand Newcastlewould mee[at half waypoints forregularpicnics.

"Mums would havethetraditionalp11ri hhqjiandyes,dadswouldhavethecricket gear audmanya happyweekend was spent earingGujju delicacies and playingcricket," she reruin.isces.

"\Xieall worked hard tosupporteach other andhelped eachotl1erasfamily. If aGujju was arrivinginAustralia, there wouldbesomeonecoreceivethem at theairport,put diemupfor afewdays and thenhelp them settleintojobsorat schools.Thiscyclekepton repeating and this spirit of caring and sharnghelped all."

Witl1suchfoundations,nowonderthe Gujjus areoneof themostclosely knit AustralianIndian�ommunities.

Whileimpossiblerorecounrall,not only Harshad and Indira Desai andtl10se mentionedabove,theIndianAustralian communityowes alottoRushiand Vasaut Sheth,Navinand ShashiKa□dhat,Pratap and RenukaAmJn,JayamandJayashree Dave,Babu andDinabenGoraclia,RKand RajRam,GunuandUsha Nakar andall thosepioneerswhohaveled tl1eway.Their eadypathshavemade lifeeasier fornewer settlers suchasus.

Em"!JGt(jamtiMigratio11toAustraliais aneasy read, bringing awarm and fuzzy feelingto d1eextendedfamiliesof tl1ose whose experiences are recounted here. Toothers,itis an important resourcein understanding d1e mannerinwhichour communityhasevolved.

Freecopiesof the book are.available fromHarshadDesai.