As 2022 comes to a close, this is not the type of story I usually write. But we all know what this year has been like against the backdrop of COVID-19 still looming. It feels impossible to put into few words the year’s events as also the challenging times.
COVID-19 did not leave us alone and much of our news operations were focused on disseminating information around the spread of this virus. For a small news operation like ours, we are thankful to the grants from the government which helped us sustain our work.
Our response to COVID was to create as much content as we can—covering all aspects. From health messaging to tackling issues such as mental health, long COVID, we used every medium – video interviews, reels, newsletters, stories—to fill the information gap. I believe we have done a lot in this space and am grateful that we had a great team to get it going.
But here’s the bright spot.
We felt rewarded as the engagement with the website went up. Our ambition to become the digital destination of news for the diaspora and the South Asian communities just got a shot in the arm.
That I suppose has to do with what remains at our core—providing you story after story about people, organisations, businesses, art and culture, politics, science. Our niche lies in tapping into community stories and while every story is worthy of cover, those that didn’t got its due prominence all the same.
It was friends, well-wishers and you readers that gave us leads and good advice – to focus on stories that mainstream media might overlook, tap into our niche audience, and write with objectivity.
We’ve managed more video productions with our limited resources tapping into the pool of IIM students from India to highlight on key issues of the economy and other sectors.
We believe in an inclusive platform and tapped into stories about multicultural communities such as those from Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, Afghanistan—seeking to tell stories that highlight the good in every culture or, even, telling a tough story.
For 2023, we have bigger plans. We will reflect upon our audience, their needs and cover more diverse demography.
Our content is free but like every other media organisation, we are facing challenges with advertising revenues yet to pick up. For quality and community journalism to thrive, we do need funds, which is why we started with our donation link at the end of stories. And we are ever grateful to friends and patrons who have supported us. You can help us by signing up to our newsletter or asking your friends to do the same. Even better, share the donate link.
From us at The Indian Sun, we would like to thank you readers. For me personally, the opportunity to write for you has been gratifying, more so being a part of the narrative and voices in our exploration of content.
Allow me to end this with a whiff of nostalgia with these stories that sit at the important intersection of information and multiculturality through storytelling.
COVID-19
The pandemic & mental health: Two lived experiences
Kalpana* is a student on a bridging visa. When the pandemic struck, she was living with an old couple for almost two years in a suburb near the CBD. But with the closure of restaurants and cafes, she lost her job and barely managed two days of work a week somewhere, somehow. Read on
How Melburnians are defining their struggle with long COVID
Last 31 December, Joylakshmi, who is in her mid-40s, attended a New Year’s Eve party hosted by her friend at a Melbourne suburb. The party had a gathering of around 16 people. The next day Joylakshmi felt aches and pains in her limbs. Few days later, it was accompanied by fever, chest congestion and breathlessness. A PCR test confirmed her worst fears, she had contracted COVID. Read on
COMMUNITY
How Melbourne’s Rajasthan Kutumb has evolved over time
In 2001, a group of seven families formed the Rajasthan Kutumb in Victoria. It would represent a microcosm of the northern Indian desert state of Rajasthan, known for its rich art and culture and, unsurprisingly, a state high on both the domestic and global tourist map of India. Read on
Maharashtrians in Australia: Sammelan & a 28-year journey
In the early 1980s, there were around 30-40 families from the western Indian state of Maharashtra trickling into Victoria. Like any diasporic community, the families reached out to one another and met socially—a connection enhanced by something deeper than just a cultural visibility. Read on
Chhatt Puja & the Bihar Jharkhand community in Victoria
Shiv Gulam Mishra, originally from Munger in Bihar, who came to Australia in 1991 jests, “None of the Biharis are businessman. We are hundred per cent job people. We are also not into sports with few exceptions such as M S Dhoni (former captain of the Indian national cricket team).” Read on
How Diwali has now become a rich Australian story
Arvind Shrivastava came to Australia in 1968. And for the handful of Indian families that he met at Monash University, Diwali provoked a bit of nostalgia and longing. “After all, it is a festival full of enjoyment and celebration,” he reflects. Read on
BUSINESS/ECONOMY
The super fund debate: Will Indians take advantage?
Melbourne-based Nikhil Banerjee remembers the decision his father took to buy a house in Delhi. His father accessed his provident fund (PF), or what we can call superannuation here, to make the purchase — ending years of shuttling around in rental properties. Read on
Talking inflation, housing with economist Vinod Mishra
The Indian Sun speaks with Vinod Mishra, Deputy Head of Economics in Monash Business School, Monash University, Melbourne, to get an insight into what the figures foretell. Read on
PEOPLE
Meet RAAF dentist Ajitha Sugnanam whose charity treats thousands
Growing up, Ajitha Sugnanam mostly focussed on her studies and went on to complete her Bachelor of Oral Health, Graduate Diploma of Dentistry and then Master’s of Clinical Dentistry (Oral Surgery) from Griffith University, Queensland. Read on
Meet RAAF dentist Ajitha Sugnanam whose charity treats thousands
Jaya Manchikanti: Making her mark
It was in the 1970s that Jaya Manchikanti came to Australia along with her parents as an eight-year-old from India. The family settled in Bendigo where she got her first taste in volunteering—getting into charity and fund-raising activities for the Salvation Army and World Vision. Read on
SOUTH ASIAN DIASPORA
How this small community language school in Clayton is thriving
That every community views its heritage as a source of pride is a no brainer. And when settling abroad, often, the older members want to engage the younger members with the opportunity to learn the language and culture, which then becomes a fabric of the society they live in. Read on
How this small community language school in Clayton is thriving
Michelle Ananda-Rajah: Very much a modern Australian story
The dust has settled on the elections. And for Dr Michelle Ananda-Rajah, the first Labor Member of Parliament (MP) to win the seat of Higgins in its 70-plus year history, life has changed. Read on
Sri Lankans in Melbourne on the political disenchantment
On 21 April 2019, in what is now infamously known as the Easter Sunday bombings in Sri Lanka, Monash University’s Mathematics Lecturer Dr Ranjith Weerasinghe was in Melbourne awaiting the arrival in two days of his family from Colombo when he received a telephone call. Read on
POLITICS
Jan 26 reflections: Negotiating the Australian-Indian identity
January 26 is a day when India celebrates Republic Day and Australia celebrates Australia Day. A double celebration. For many Indians it is also a day when they take the citizenship oath and become a part of the national family. Read on
Jan 26 reflections: Negotiating the Australian-Indian identity
Federal elections: What does the community want?
The Indian Sun speaks to some members of the community on what they want from this federal election. Read on
ARTS & CULTURE
Films or theatre, Prakash Belawadi has a perspective to success
From Madras Café to The Kashmir Files to web series Mumbai Diaries 26/11 to the latest Aussie project The Jungle and the Sea (to name a few), Prakash Belawadi has made his mark in more ways than one. Read on
Films or theatre, Prakash Belawadi has a perspective to success
Of Kapil Dev, Kabir Khan and their date with Melbourne
Legendary Indian cricketer Kapil Dev brings an earthy charm even to the role of a guest. “I am not an opening batsman,” he says, when invited to be the first to speak at the press conference marking the start to the nine-day Indian Film Festival of Melbourne (IFFM). Read on
‘There are more stories to be told from every ethnic group’
For actor Parvesh Cheena, growing up in the United States, the one thing he found himself doing like many other Indian-American kids was code switching cultures between Indian life and American/white culture. Read on
IN CONVERSATION
Dr Goel answers key questions on metastatic breast cancer
Dr Shom Goel, a clinician-scientist at the University of Melbourne and Peter MacCallum Cancer Centre, answers some key questions on metastatic breast cancer, where the cancer has spread from the breast to other parts of the body. Read on
On a mission to change the ‘ugly status’ of Indian food in Australia
Manpreet Sekhon, affectionately titled Geelong’s “Curry Queen”, has always dreamt of opening a restaurant. Read on
On a mission to change the ‘ugly status’ of Indian food in Australia
Author Ikroop Sandhu explores Bhagat Singh in new light
Inquilab Zindabad is Ikroop Sandhu’s first graphic novel, a biography on the Punjabi revolutionary Bhagat Singh. Read on
SPORTS
‘Never a dull moment in Australia’ for Ravi Shastri
At the Fox Footy office in Melbourne’s Southbank, former Indian cricketer Ravi Shastri saunters through—still like the batsman of elegance (yet aggressive) he once was. Read on
How community cricket clubs are raising their bats
For people from South Asian countries such as India, Pakistan, Sri Lanka or Bangladesh, cricket is religion. And with Australia’s changing demography and growing population, cricket is seeing its best expression. Read on
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