More and more Aussies soaking up ‘Incredible India’ experience

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By Neena Bhandari

Sydney, 23.09.2007 (IANS): While Australia is becoming a favoured destination for Indians asking “Where the bloody hell are you?”, Aussies are going in steadily large numbers for the “Incredible India” experience. With only 50,000 Aussies travelling to India in 2003, the number shot up to 106,000 in 2006 and this year has seen an increase of about 18 percent.

“We are hoping to see 130,000 Aussies visiting India by the end of this year,” says the regional director of the Indian Tourism Office in Sydney, Shanker Dhar. “We are hoping to see 130,000 Aussies visiting India by the end of this year,” says the regional director of the Indian Tourism Office in Sydney, Shanker Dhar.

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Only one Hindu in 1828 New South Wales Census

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By Neena Bhandari

Sydney, 19.09.2007(IANS): Hinduism may be the fastest growing religion in Australia. But there was only one Hindu amongst the 36,000 or so residents in the 1828 census of the state of New South Wales.

Australia’s first Hindu stockman, Ramdial, who was born most probably in 1788, arrived in Australia aboard the ship Mary in 1818 with Sophia Browne, the wife of his employer William Merchant Browne, and three of Browne’s children from Calcutta (now Kolkata).

“William Browne of the Browne & Turner firm, which was a tea company in Calcutta, was born in Lucknow, educated in Britain and was employed in the East India Company before he took over the family business. In 1810, he decided to come to Australia for the opportunities offered by the relatively new British colony,” said Brad Argent, a spokesperson for Ancestry, the world’s biggest provider of family history data.

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Ganesh idol immersed with great fanfare near Sydney

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By Neena Bhandari

Sydney, 17.09.2007 (IANS): An idol of Hindu god Ganesh, decorated in all finery, sat firm as thousands of devotees followed in a procession chanting “Ganpati Bappa Morya” to Stanwell Park beach here, as part of colourful celebrations for the Ganesh festival.

The elephant-headed god was immersed in the Pacific Ocean to the sounds of beating drums and chants Sunday as waves on low tide lashed the sandy beach, about 50 km south of Sydney’s central business district.

The three-feet-tall idol was made of biodegradable material. “We were very conscious to use only environmental friendly material like clay and papier mache,” said Murali Dharan, president of the Sri Venkateswara Temple committee that organises the annual Ganesh festival.

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