Recognising the contributions of the subcontinent community
The inaugural NSW Premier’s Indian Subcontinent Community Service Awards were announced on February 18 by Premier Kristina Keneally.
Six members of the community were felicitated as significant contributors, one each in the fields of Trade and Industry, Arts and Culture, Community Harmony and Community Service, while the award for Lifetime Achievement was shared by two individuals.
The awardees were picked – from among a whopping 63 nominations – by an independent udging panel made up of John Watkins (head of Alzheimers Australia and former Deputy Premier of NSW), Prof. Veena Sahajwalla of UNSW, Raj Datta (Chairman of the Deepavali Festival Committee of NSW) and Michael Christodoulou (CRC commissioner).
The awards were presented by the Premier at a simple ceremony at Government House, hosted by Stepan Kerkyasharian, chairman of the Community Relations Commission.
“I congratulate the nominees and recipients for their outstanding contributions, and hope they inspire new generations,” the Premier said on the occasion.
Dressed in a glamorous sari, the Premier claimed she had “never felt more beautiful or elegant” and happily posed for photograph after photograph.
The Indian Subcontinent Community Awards will be an annual affair, following in the tradition of Chinese, Lebanese, Filipino and Vietnamese community awards.
Here is a profile on the award-winners, whose contribution has helped the community develop prosper and grow.
Changing the face of the world
Twenty-two-year-old Mohit Tolani won the NSW Indian Subcontinent Community Award for Community Service.
It was at high school that Mohit first became attracted to the idea of community service. As part of a Round Square initiative, Mohit had led his Gold Coast High School in a cancer fundraising programme. Round Square is an international organisation that believes that schools should have a greater purpose beyond preparing students for university, and fosters a philosophy of international understanding, democracy, environmental stewardship, adventure, leadership and service. As a young adult, Mohit has grown to inculcate these very values in his day-to-day life.
A dentistry student, Mohit is quite clear of what his ultimate goals are.
“I want to help people – that’s why I chose health care. I want to take dentistry to country NSW. I’m aware that rural areas have a severe shortage of specialists and people have to drive far to get even basic treatment. It’s shocking but it’s true,” says Mohit.
Mohit wants to become a face surgeon, specializing in facial tumours.
“There are only a few specialists in Australia and none in the rural areas,” he claims.
Yet he will continue to change the face of the world in many other ways.
He has been involved for many years with the Australian Indigenous Mentoring Experience (AIME), in which he mentored Aboriginal youth in high school and at uni. As a post-grad student, he will continue his work with AIME. “There’s a huge gap between Aboriginal and mainstream students in grammar and maths skills, which we’ve tried to fill. We also help them with extra curricular skills and instill a pride in being Aboriginal,” says Mohit.
“I’m also keen to start Dentists Without Borders, which does not exist to date in the southern hemisphere, with a few close friends. This will help us take our skills internationally,” he adds.
Mohit has won numerous community service and leadership awards at school, university and Rotary levels, and was a finalist last year in the Pride of Australia Awards.
It was pleasing to see the youth of the community represented at this prestigious forum, as well as the government’s recognition of the efforts of this section of society. Yet watchers of the trends in our community will tell you that there are many such youth who have been passionate about community service from an early age. Perhaps Mohit Tolani can help mentor them as well.
Rajni Anand Luthra
The science behind food
Dr Gurcharn Singh Sidhu won the NSW Indian Subcontinent Community Award for Lifetime Achievement.
“I feel great,” the soft-spoken scientist and humanitarian told Indian Link later. “I’ve been working here for 45 years, and to be recognised by the government for this is a wonderful feeling.”
Dr Sidhu retired as senior principal research scientist from CSIRO in 1994, having joined way back in 1966. He first came to Australia in 1951 as a PhD student under the Colombo Plan, along with four other agriculture students who were sent here to gain skills needed to launch India’s Green Revolution. All five returned home to take up senior positions at the famed Punjab Agriculture University in Ludhiana, and helped make the state the food bowl of the country. Having served ten years there, Dr Sidhu migrated to Australia.
Dr Sidhu found himself in the limelight in the early 1990s for having pioneered the process of extracting cholesterol from egg yolks. “The final product hit the supermarket shelves to much acclaim,” Dr Sidhu explained, “but soon medical opinion changed about dietary cholesterol not really exerting a negative influence.” However Dr Sidhu’s work with the poultry industry continued, and he devised a formula to produce Omega-3 enriched eggs that did not taste like fish.
Dr Sidhu’s work with the Sikh community began almost immediately upon his arrival here. He helped establish the Australian Sikh Association and was the driving force behind the Glenwood gurudwara. He was also the President of the Indo-Australian Cultural Society and is widely known on the cultural scene in the Punjabi community.
Today Dr Sidhu looks back fondly at his time with CSIRO. “Scientific research was at its peak during my time. We had the freedom to investigate as we chose. Now there are lots of restrictions, such as having to report every six months on the status of your work. Science does not work that way: how can you anticipate when your experiments will succeed? Administrators have no idea…” he says wistfully.
To scientists looking to make a future here, Dr Siudhu advises, “Agricultural research is on a downward trend, but medical research is on the way up. IT is also developing fast. But whatever you choose to do, remember, honest work is 95% perspiration.”
Dr Sidhu’s wife Natasha was at Government House to see her husband receive his award.
Rajni Anand Luthra
A good eye for community issues
Dr Siddhalingeshwara (Sid) Orekondy won the NSW Indian Subcontinent Community Award for Lifetime Achievement.
He was recognised for “37 years of outstanding volunteering in the community”.
“I am thrilled to have been chosen for recognition in the first ever Indian community awards in NSW, probably the first ever in Australia,” Dr Orekondy told Indian Link.
An ophthalmologist by profession, Dr Orekondy came to Australia in the 1970s after an eight-year stint in England. The Royal Australian and New Zealand College of Ophthalmologists at first refused to give him specialist status, but acquiesced after seeing the quality of his work. Today he continues to practice at Campsie, having scaled down his practice considerably.
Dr Orekondy claims he has always enjoyed working with community groups, and has been volunteering within the Indian community here in various capacities. “I started off with the India League (which no longer exists), as Secretary, then President. The first India Fair was actually held under its auspices. I helped found the Sydney Kannada Sangha. Then the UIA came along and I’ve been with it since its inception. I have also been involved with the Veerashaiva Samaj and Chandana TV,” he says proudly.
In his professional capacity, Dr Orekondy was President of the Overseas Medical Graduates of Australia for two years. He launched the medical stall at the annual India Fair which has been disseminating information as well as gathering health-related data for research on the Indian community here.
Dr Orekondy has also provided voluntary medical services in Fiji and in India, and has led study groups to East Africa.
Last year, his home state in India, Karnataka, honoured him as a valued son of the state during its Foundation Day felicitations.
As the Indian community here grows in numbers, Dr Orekondy has the following advice to new Australians of Indian origin, “Don’t forget your roots, but equally, respect the land you live in now”.
Rajni Anand Luthra
Towards a better understanding of India in the mainstream
Pawan Luthra won the NSW Indian Subcontinent Community Award for Community Harmony.
“It is indeed exciting to be honoured by the NSW government and further reinforces my belief that there is so much one can do to bridge the gap between Australia and India, be it social, cultural, or political,” Pawan, a media commentator and proprietor of Indian Link newspaper, said.
Pawan firmly believes in presenting a fair and unbiased perspective on the various issues that affect the community, and in promoting better understanding of subcontinental values and traditions to the wider Australian society.
In his early days here since he arrived in 1985, much of Pawan’s commentary centred around removing stereotypes of India as an impoverished and mysterious land, and replacing that with more factual notions of India’s burgeoning middle-class and its potential as a modern market for Australian resources, as well as its deep-rooted traditions of family, value for education, and an abiding spirit of tolerance.
Having cut his teeth on India’s public television channel Doordarshan and public broadcaster All India Radio, Pawan set up Indian Link newspaper in Australia on 1994 and launched Indian Link Radio a few years later. Today the newspaper goes across the country with editions in Melbourne, Perth, Brisbane and Adelaide, and the radio is heard in Sydney and Melbourne, besides streaming live on the internet.
Pawan’s crisp and meaningful editorials are widely read, not only by the Indian community but also by an increasing number of mainstream readers that the paper has been able to attract.
His comments are sought by mainstream media every time an India-related issue crops up, whether the Indian students’ crisis, international cricket, the Delhi Commonwealth Games controversy, India’s uranium issues with Australia – and yes, invariably, even the mystique behind the notion of arranged marriages! Over the years his opinions have been sought by BBC, ABC breakfast radio, ABC 24 television, ABC’s Lateline program, Compass, Channel 7’s Today Tonight, Channel 7’s Sunrise, 2GB, Sydney Morning Herald, The Australian, and TIME magazine.
“As a commentator on matters that involve our community, my main objective is to offer a true and unbiased opinion on the issue in question, and to offer solutions through dialogue, discussion or simply, sensible action,” says Pawan.
“I try and advocate a rational assessment of the situation after looking at both points of view, and my perspective is usually that of finding solutions to any problems,” he adds.
This attitude also won him a position on the Board of Advisers to the NSW government’s Migrant Heritage Council. At this forum, Pawan’s advice on various projects for the migrant community have been well appreciated.
A highlight for Pawan in recent months was his appearance on Foxtel’s telecast of the 2010 Commonwealth Games Opening Ceremony in Delhi providing the Indian perspective, and offering insights on India’s culture, heritage and traditions. With this he became the first Indian Australian to take on a prominent role in a mainstream television telecast.
Sheryl Dixit
Prolific, yet low profiled
Chandru Tolani won the NSW Indian Subcontinent Community Award for Trade and Industry.
Chandru Tolani is a highly successful hotelier, businessman, entrepreneur and philanthropist. However, by choice, he remains a relatively private person in the community and his reaction to the award was one of mild surprise. “My first reaction was – at last! The extent of my contribution has finally been recognized and I have been considered as a worthy nominee. I am grateful to the people who voted for me, as it is an honour to be acknowledged for the work I have put in,” says Chandru.
And it certainly is a well-deserved award for this low-profile businessman with a string of three hotels, a golf course, and a highly successful import-export business among other ventures, which he has painstakingly built over the last 30 years of living in Australia.
“I have never sought the limelight; I believe that my actions speak louder than any need to ostentatiously display who I am and what I have done,” explains Chandru. “I am simply happy to receive recognition for my contribution to Australia’s trade and economy, and being the first Indian businessman to receive this acknowledgement is even better.”
Chandru’s various business interests employ over 300 people in Australia, and he is a well-respected, if lesser known entrepreneur, particularly for his integrity and business acumen. He pioneered the highly-successful 2-dollar shopping concept in Australia, importing good quality, low priced, affordable products for sale in the market.
Chandru applies an attitude of understatement to his considerable charitable work as well, which is rare in these days when philanthropy is almost synonymous with publicity. His was the first organisation to bring Indian deities to the Hindu temple in Auburn, and he has been associated with the United India Organisation (UIA) and the Hindi Association as well. Chandru has held significant fundraising events at the golf course owned by him, as well as supporting other organisations like the Glen McGrath Cancer Foundation. He has anonymously helped a raft of individuals who have suffered genuine loss or bereavement, through acts of unpublicized kindness.
Despite his success, Chandru refuses to get bogged down by the pressures of work and business. “To me, my family is very important and I spend as much time with them as I can. I work hard in managing my business interests, but in my leisure, I play golf as I am quite a fanatic, and of course, I am an out-and-out family man. This is why I prefer to keep a low profile, so that I can spend my leisure hours in enjoyable activities,” says Chandru. With this appropriate balance between work, charity and leisure, Chandru seems set to continue his journey on the path of success.
Sheryl Dixit
Satyam, Shivam, Sundaram
Kumud Merani won the NSW Indian Subcontinent Community Award for Arts and Culture.
As the only woman award winner, Kumud Merani is thrilled at being felicitated by the NSW government, and for a number of reasons. “Yes, of course, I am very very pleased,” says Kumud enthusiastically. “I think it’s great recognition and an acknowledgment of my contribution, and I also think the award also speaks for the empowerment of women. I am grateful to all the people who nominated me and who have shown marvellous support for my work”.
Kumud claims her work is done with passion and of her own free will, and “although tough at times, ultimately it is always rewarding”.
Kumud has been intensely involved in arts and culture since a young age; she completed her Masters in Ancient Indian Art and Culture, and was awarded a Gold Medal for topping the Uni in the subject. What followed was a job as the very first TV newsreader in Mumbai, and on coming to Australia, Kumud took up a contract job as a world newsreader in English on SBS TV. Currently, Kumud is Executive Producer for Hindi Programs on SBS; she is also a journalist/producer presenter, and a theatre producer, writer and actor.
Awards are not new to Kumud, but this one is very special, she says. “I have received at least 6 awards over the years from different Associations in NSW, as well as numerous ones from other states. I have received international awards and recognition for my radio documentaries, which are a great source of pride for me. However, this award is very rewarding, because it openly acknowledges the work that I have done since the past 25 years in bringing awareness of Indian art and culture to the subcontinent community as well introducing and sustaining the richness of our heritage to the people of Australia,” she says.
Theatre is the medium by which Kumud explores the realm of Indian classical art and brings it to the audience. “My themes are usually Indo-Aussie, and I do have a yen for history, which comes through in my work. However, theatre is always the product of teamwork, and I am fortunate that to have so many willing and enthusiastic supporters, including my husband Suresh,” she says.
Her perception is that India is currently the flavour with Australians, but there is still a need to promote India’s rich classical heritage as being way beyond Bollywood. “I am keen to extend our culture to the wider mainstream and foster a deeper, richer understanding of India’s immense classical canopy – from history, to the arts, to music, poetry, dance…we have such a lot to offer!” she says.
This would be a challenge but an enjoyable one for Kumud, who describes herself as an aesthete. “I love anything that encompasses truth, goodness and beauty; Satyam, Shivam, Sundaram,” to quote this ardent fan of literature poetry.
Sheryl Dixit
