The Indian Tea Room

High Tea to Raise Funds for Women Empowerment

By: Rekha Rajvanshi

The Indian Tea Room – High Tea with an Indian Twist on 30th May at Hornsby War Memorial Hall, brought many dynamic women of Sydney together.

The Indian Tea room is an annual event, successfully held for the past five years to support various charities and causes.

The objective of the high tea this year was to raise awareness and funds for IWE (Indian Women Empower), a newly formed organization.

IWE was established to address the complex relational and multifaceted nature of issues faced by Indian women in Australia. The aim is to connect women to better themselves, improve self-worth, determine choices, and discover their potential. To achieve this vision, IWE will regularly hold

programs, workshops, and events to connect women, support and encourage their potential and promote a sisterhood.

The organizer of this event Mansi Khanna said – ‘Our belief is creating a safe haven for women! Supporting women is paramount and we stand with IWE to achieve that.’

Speakers at the event were Melissa Monterio – CEO of CMRC and one of the founding members of IWE, who spoke about women empowerment. Then Harinder Kaur of Harman foundation said a few words about how her organization will be collaborating with IWE in the future.

A short play by Crescendo Films on domestic violence was sensational. It was directed ably by Jyotsana Sharma and performed beautifully by the solo-actor Akanksha Srivastava. Fashion show by Krina Parikh of Ethnic wear expo with the models Sarita Menon, Hiral Adhyaru , Clr Reena Jethi added glamour to the event. The makeup artist was Sonu Sodhi.

Dance performances headed by Shona Thapliyal of Balaji Nritya Bharati Dance Academy Sydney, were enjoyed by the audience. Sumptuous custom-made food – burgers, sandwiches, and desserts, catered by Ponds catering, was enjoyed by all.

A sum of AU$3,500 was raised through the event which will be used to support workshops and events to empower women especially new migrants.

Joseph Kolapudi

Growing up South Asian has its upsides and its downsides, and often living in a multicultural society is a reflection of our cultural attitudes, values and beliefs, and the interplay between Western ideology and the diversity of our Eastern roots. However, the recent launch of South Asian Heritage Month has been a refreshing recognition of what makes our cultural community unique to the tapestry of history.

Inaugurally commencing in 2020, South Asian Heritage Month originally launched in the UK as a month-long commemoration of the historical importance of the contributions of South Asians to the landscape of the country, across the sectors of arts, culture and heritage. This year marks the second consecutive year that South Asian Heritage Month has been held, which began on the 18th of July, denoting the day of that the Indian Independence Act of 1947 came into being, through until the 17th of August, the day that the Radcliffe Line was also drawn in 1947, noting the geographical boundaries that marked India, Pakistan and Bangladesh becoming nation states.

With the onset of COVID-19, this year’s theme extended to the inclusion of digital dialogues, online events, and virtual celebrations of diverse South Asian organisations, creatives and initiatives within the wider diaspora; and the first time this extended beyond the UK.

This year, there were multiple South Asian-led organisations and initiatives in Australia that took part in hosted conversations, in partnership with authors, artists, and acclaimed creatives. “We Will Write our Stories” was the first digital dialogue held online by the Australian South Asian Centre, located in Melbourne, with multiple authors and speakers from both the UK and Australia weighing in on the conversation regarding inspiring new generations of South Asian writers. Over 150 people attended online, which included live Q&A sessions, online conversations, as well as digital opportunities for budding authors to launch their own stories and book ideas.

Following on from this online event, a hosted conversation by SolveSquad, an online response platform launched in collaboration with the World Economic Forum Global Shapers Brisbane Hub, covered the topic of South Asian Youth and COVID-19, in regards to facing challenges and identifying opportunities springing forward from the pandemic. In connection with a local UK-based charity known as People against Poverty, and in conversation with the South Asian Forum, a nationwide network connecting emerging leaders from multicultural backgrounds, this dialogue helped to highlight examples of new initiatives within the community to connect people during lockdown, discuss mental health challenges affecting individuals due to isolation, and provide new perspectives on post-COVID-19 realities, including virtual volunteering and community platforms assisting others online.

As South Asian Heritage Month continues, over 100 events across the month-long commemoration of cultural traditions and celebrations have brought many together, despite the distance of time and space. It has also shown the resilience and ingenuity of South Asians across the diaspora, who have been able to develop new initiatives and ways of engagement in spite of the pandemic, and especially as many seek to find and foster community in the face of COVID-19.

Beyond the month-long celebrations, organisers have been ideating ways to further the importance of recognising cultural leaders and emerging opportunities; and will be making South Asian Heritage Month into a year-round platform for individuals and organisations to get involved.

For many, this has also sparked the search for cultural belonging. Due to the recent challenging times, it has become evidently important, more than ever, for communities of colour to be able to put aside differences and come together around a common purpose. For South Asians, this has meant recognising the efforts of those outside of the subcontinent, especially the international community, expats, and thirdculture-kids who have been leading the conversation for leaders of the future.

This cultural observance has also led many to bridge the gap through partnering with other South Asian collectives and initiatives, especially as the conversation for championing diversity

Finding our Heritage

- Playing our Part in South Asian Heritage Month

and different perspectives continues. As new platforms emerge, it is encouraging that there is a united front for multiple generations of South Asians to converge during a single observance, especially centering around South Asian Heritage Month and all that it means and signifies for the wider community.

Continuing this conversation forward, there are many different ways for those within the South Asian context to be involved; including initiatives such as South Asian Writers, which will be highlighting a video series featuring pandemic perspectives Shakti Mental Health Melbourne. Additionally, the digital dialogues will continue to be hosted through YouTube Live, as well as featured on the online platform for South Asian Heritage Month. Future events and initiatives will also feature collaboration calls for young South Asians to be featured and contribute to ongoing discussions regarding heritage and cultural values.

Identifying with our desi heritage is often both a challenge and an opportunity; in that, reconciling our differences and connecting with our culture requires taking initiative in a society where being unique can be problematic. However, embracing these differences and being aware of our diversity and how we add value to the world we live in can actually bring communities together into a closer knit society in which we can develop new ways of understanding and engaging with others.

For our culture to be truly recognised, we need platforms such as South Asian Heritage Month as a showcase of our community, to preserve our legacy, and unite our society as a whole for generations to come.