Craftsman of quality – Rings of Melbourne

27/08/2012 0 Comments read Business and Trade

By Neena Bhandari

Sydney, 27.08.2012 (Sydney Morning Herald): Andrew Sampson launched Rings of Melbourne in 2009 as a counter to the imported jewellery flooding the retail sector.

“The consumer has no choice but to buy the imported product, which is inferior in quality compared with the locally made ones. It is pushing designers and manufacturers like me out of business,” says Sampson, who has worked in the industry for the past 25 years.

Passionate about Australian-made products, Sampson says the country is “losing an entire generation of skilled [craftspeople] because they can’t compete with cheap imports. For our jewellers and goldsmiths to survive, we need handcrafted pieces, made here in Australia, back on the shelves.”

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Cruise takeaway – Onboard the MS Amsterdam from Melbourne to Sydney

20/01/2012 0 Comments read Travel

Photo Credit: © Neena Bhandari

By Neena Bhandari

Sydney, 20.01.2012 (Khaleej Times): With the advent of summer, cruise liners begin port calls on Australian shores. So instead of a 90-minute flight or 10-hour drive, I embark on my maiden cruise on Holland America’s MS Amsterdam from Melbourne to Sydney. Overzealous customs officials greet me at the Melbourne Port before I am ushered on board by cheerful crew.

The classic interior, broad staircases and polished decks display Dutch heritage and tradition. At the epicentre is the Planeto Astrolabium, a signature sculpture soaring in a three-story atrium, which tracks constellations, the planets, world time and ship time.

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Australia in Diwali mood with lights, Bollywood and Indian food

20/10/2008 0 Comments read Diaspora

By Neena Bhandari

Sydney, 20.10.2008 (IANS): Thousands of people, including many members of the Indian diaspora, gathered in Sydney and Melbourne over the weekend to usher in Diwali festivities that coincide with the flowering of jacarandas and ripening of mangoes in Australia.

While over 20,000 people celebrated Diwali at Olympic Park in Sydney’s Homebush suburb, festivities at Federation Square in the heart of Melbourne’s Central Business District drew a staggering 50,000.

Diwali has perhaps become the biggest festival in the Australian cultural calendar as people of Indian origin cross the 200,000 mark and Hinduism becomes one of the fastest growing religions in this multicultural country.

Organised by the Hindu Council of Australia in Sydney and Celebrate India Inc. in Melbourne, the festival in recent years has been attracting almost 50 percent mainstream Australians.

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