We walked into 2021 with a hangover from the depths of Covid terror. Looking back on a year when vaccines emerged to get us out of the Covid woods to getting back on our feet, albeit slowly, The Indian Sun tapped into many stories across all sectors. In looking back, we are happy to take you back through some of the stories that resonated with the community.
Some must re-reads
COVID-19
How this scientist played a key role in three Covid vaccines
When a gentleman flew to Melbourne from Guandon in Jan 2020, he was not just the first confirmed case of the novel coronavirus in Australia, he was also the first imported case in the world. How Prof S S Vasan his team grew and characterised the virus. Read on
How Covid has led to skill shortages in different sectors
Indeed, the coming of COVID-19 has changed the workforce in Australia. And according to reports, it is low-skilled and unskilled workers who have borne the brunt of job losses caused by lockdown and border closure. Read on
Stranded children: Two families’ heart wrenching stories
The pandemic upended the lives of many. But some families really had it hard. A look at the stories of two families separated from their young children stranded in India and how the road home seemed a long one. Read on
Enrolled in Australian, stranded in India: Tale of desperation
Last year, when the coronavirus reared its ugly head, Anagha Ganore, an Indian student studying in Griffith University, literally boarded the last flight out of Gold Coast to Nasik, her hometown in western India. Read on
The pandemic & its toll on senior members of the community
The pandemic has unduly limited movement and life for everyone, but for Guruswamy, the past 18 months combined with the tragic loss of his daught, failing health and financial constraints feel like life falling in on itself. Read on
COMMUNITY
Of cricket & culture: breaking down barriers
How the founders of Multicultural Sports Group (MSG) organised a cricket tournament that was a great display of local talent, pride, sportsmanship, camaraderie, idealism and multiculturalism that a pandemic could not take away. Read on
The Katyals’ fervent plea to stay on in Australia
For Varun Katyal, gratitude and hurt feels almost identical right now. Gratitude that he has been able to live and work in Australia for 12 years and hurt that a beautiful life he has dreamed for his small family in the promised land now faces an uncertain future. Read on
A quiet Onam for Malayalees under locked down Victoria
In a state hit by hard lockdown due to the coronavirus, the famously celebrated festival of Onam for the Malayalee people of Kerala is quiet. But the many Malayalees in Victoria are not letting the lockdown affect their celebration. Read on
Melbourne’s Jain community has much to cheer for
In the early 2000s, the Jain community in Melbourne was still a fledgling one. Yet they were able to knit together as a group in ways other diasporic relationships do. This year they inaugurated a Jain temple of architectural excellence and learning. Read on
How these women put together a joy of meaning
When the lockdowns happened for most part of last year, the women at Gurdwara Siri Guru Nanak Darbar Officer, found an opportune time to work on a cookbook project. Healthy Veggie Bites was launched on International Women’s Day this March. Read on
ARTS & CULTURE
One singer’s effort to bring Indian folk music closer to Australia
There’s a lot to ask of Dr Sarita McHarg-Borliya, a musician for over 30 years in India and Australia. Her’s is a lovely story to indulge from the start going back to Ujjain, an ancient city in the central Indian state of Madhya Pradesh. Read on
How an Australian father gifts his daughter—India
Sean Doyle set off on a two-month trip—an adventure with his daughter Anna. The result is a memoir Night Train to Varanasi, which has been described as “a dual homage, a love song from a father to a daughter and to India”. Read on
India: A personal journey of an intimate stranger
David Krasnostein’s love affair with India began years ago as a young man when he first visited Delhi on business. A portraitist at heart, he captures people and faces in his book Colours and Faces of India. Read on
MEDIA & POLITICS
In the internet era, what is the future of the ethnic media?
There are hundreds of ethnic media organisations in Australia that are the community’s eyes and voice. But the question is: will the ethnic media survive the onslaught of time, what is its future and value? Read on
Why the lack of diversity in Australian politics
The proposed parachuting of Labor Senator Kristina Keneally into the federal seat of Fowler in New South Wales, one of Australia’s most diverse seats, has helped resurface the important issue of underrepresentation of politicians of colour in Australia. Read on
SCIENCE, BUSINESS & TECHNOLOGY
How a dream became a reality for this Aussie startup
For new Aussie startup company Splashup, the pandemic has provided fodder as it looks at ways to leverage technology to build platforms and connect with people in e-commerce with an eye on exponential growth. Read on
Meet Veena Sahajwalla, ‘waste queen’ & 2022 NSW Australian of the Year
As a materials scientist and engineer and founding Director of SMaRT at the UNSW, Sydney, she is producing a new generation of green materials, products and resources made entirely, or primarily, from waste. Read on
Circular economy: Neeraj Das with Ojas Australia paves the way
Meet Neeraj Das, who helms Ojas Group, one of the rapidly growing companies and listed among the 100 growing companies in Australia, the ranking of which will be published shortly by the Australian Financial Review. Read on
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We walked into 2021 with a hangover from the depths of Covid terror. Looking back on a year when vaccines emerged to get us out of Covid to getting back on our feet, albeit slowly, @The_Indian_Sun tapped into many stories across all sectors. #TheIndianSunhttps://t.co/vME9QlJkXV
— The Indian Sun (@The_Indian_Sun) December 22, 2021
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