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© Neena Bhandari, Women's Feature Service  It’s a Sunday morning, a fire is burning on a silver urn in the sanctum sanctorum as about 30 children pray with a priest in the main hall of the Darbe Meher, place of worship and community activities for Zoroastrians, in the Sydney suburb of Annangrove.
Nestling amidst verdant surroundings with a tranquil billabong (pool of water) and fruit trees, the Darbe Meher has become the epicentre of learning and festivities for Zoroastrians, who have migrated to Australia from India, Pakistan and Iran since the 1960s. According to the Australian Bureau of Statistics’ 2006 Census data, there are 2110 people (1156 males and 954 females) practising Zoroastrianism, the pre-Christian faith founded in Persia (Iran) by Prophet Zarathushtra who believed in a single God, Ahura Mazda. Many Zoroastrians from Persia migrated to India around 10th century A.D to escape Arab-Muslim persecution and came to be referred as Parsis. They largely settled in Mumbai and Gujarat and many of them have since migrated to other countries like Australia. When Villie Meher-Homji, a scientist, migrated here from Mumbai in 1970, her biggest challenge was to infuse in her children the same love and respect she felt for Zoroastrian culture and tradition. |
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© Neena Bhandari, Indo Asian News Service  SYDNEY, January 26 (IANS): Despite all the reports of violence against Indians, hundreds of them are becoming Australian citizens, making India the third most represented country, followed by Britain and China, for people receiving their citizenship.
Alisha D'Souza and her twin sister, Binaisha D'Souza, 19, can’t contend their excitement as they take their oath at a citizenship ceremony at Brimbank City Council, the second largest municipality in Melbourne. “We feel privileged to have been granted citizenship and to be more a part of this multi-cultural society. It took some time to adjust, but now we call this home. Australians are very accepting of different cultures, they tend to be more laid back and love sports. Our parents felt that it would provide us with better opportunities”, Alisha, who is doing a Bachelor of Commerce degree at Melbourne University, told IANS. In 2008-09, 9,088 Indians became Australian citizens. This year, a record 16,500 people from 144 countries are becoming Australian citizens on January 26. So have the spate of attacks on Indians and the ensuing media publicity impacted on their life?
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© Neena Bhandari, Indo Asian News Service  Adelaide, October 22 (IANS): Each day thousands of commuters across the world wait for a bus or a train, wondering when would it arrive? Now a group of local and international students studying at Carnegie Mellon University’s Adelaide campus have created a solution that would tell you exactly when your bus or train will be at your stop.
The Sandora Prototype 1.0 is a tracking system, which sends live timetable information and a Google Map showing the location of the vehicle, direct to mobile phones by SMS. Commuters can obtain the information either in advance of their intended trip or while waiting at or near a bus stop. |
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