Cross-cultural capers: When ANZACS dunked chapattis in dal and curry Dr Indrani Ganguly “Sing me to sleep, the bullets fall Let me forget the war & all Damp is my dugout, cold is my feet Nothing but biscuits & bully to eat. “ Popular soldier’s song, circa 1918, recorded in the diary of Archie A. Barwick. “The Digger sniffed the savoury Sikh curry, and longed to taste it, but it was no go. One night a few of the boys got into the Sikh lines, and in some way or other the fingers of one of them were found in the pot. That settled it. Johnny Sikh gave the whole pot full to the Anzacs, who didn't forget the good taste for a long time”. Source: https://www.sbs.com.au/language/english/chapattis-with-a-sprinkle-of-anzac-spirit ? When we think of food in times of war, we usually think of food shortages and rationing. Sometimes we remember how wartime creates new national icons like the ANZAC biscuit in Australia. We don’t alwa...
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Cross-Cultural Capers: ' English as she is spoke in Australia and India ' Indrani Ganguly Moving from one outpost of the British Empire to another has provided interesting experiences in working out what’s similar and what’s different. As a writer, my particular interest has been ' English as she is spoke’ in the two countries. My Australian-born, Australian-raised husband said I should abandon ‘thrice’ which is commonly used by Indians but considered archaic here. He couldn’t explain why a perfectly serviceable word had been replaced by two (three times), contrary to George Orwell ’ s advice to cut out a word where was possible to do so. There have been some funny moments when using words that have totally different meanings in the two countries. In India, if you invite someone for tea ( çha ) in India, it is for a nice cuppa and some snacks, not for the evening meal as is the case for some Australians. An Indian friend alerted me to this after her experi...
Unity in Adversity – A Citizen’s View of the Coronavirus Pandemic Rockbottom became the solid bottom in which I rebuilt my life: J.K.Rowling A young woman in a supermarket spots an elderly man who is looking very stressed. He tells her he arrived too late to get any rice. She reaches into her trolley, puts the packet she’s just picked up into his basket and hurries away without taking any money. While panic and pandemonium dominate the news, every so often I hear of the little ways in which people are banding together to help not just other people but animals as well. To me coronavirus spells many things. C is for calm, buying just what we need. O is for optimism, we will learn new ways to survive. R is for responsibility, we each have to do our bit. O is for the openhearted helping others to live. N is for nurturing mind, body and soul in a 100 little ways. A is for the awesome frontline folks, undaunted by fears. V is for versatile, Bundaberg Rum ...
WAYS OF SEEING PEOPLE, NATURE AND THE WORLD Poetry by Indrani Ganguly You can’t change how people treat you or what they say about you. All you can do is change how you react to it. Mahatma Gandhi Who am I? I am a Libran. The scales are supposed to represent balance. I believe they represent forever seeking balance. Some days my glass is half full. On other days it is half empty. I cannot predict how I will react to people, places, plants or pets I am forever changing. *** Ode to Crosswords My days are like a crossword puzzle Sometimes the clues are easy I can fill the squares without pain Other days I agonize For the words that won’t emerge From the recesses of my brain. Easy or hard it matters not The puzzles teach me new words I’ve never encountered before Long forgotten words spring back to life Creating new connections All p...