Neha was two years old when she and her family moved from their Indian homeland to the island of Fiji where her father, who was Fijian Indian, sought to expand their horizons and reconnect with his roots. When Neha was 12, the family migrated to New Zealand. Eight years later, Neha moved to Australia independently to study law at the Australian National University in Canberra.
Neha grew up in a bilingual household, speaking fluent Hindi and English.
The fact her father was an English teacher, she says, came in handy. Neha can still speak Hindi comfortably-which she attributes in part to the influence of Bollywood-but says her reading and writing of the language is a little rusty.
Her friends joke about Neha’s attempts to ‘Indianise’ them, by giving regular updates of Indian news and celebrity gossip. But she doesn’t mind being ‘ribbed’ and says she takes full credit for introducing them to the pleasures of Indian food and culture!
Growing up in New Zealand, her school friends ‘lined up’ to visit her home so they could try her mother’s Indian cooking, which although was simple, everyday food to Neha, was considered exotic by her teenage friends. Two dishes they ate a lot include Rajma and Chawal, a simple recipe of kidney beans and rice and Chole Bhature, which is chick peas served with naan bread.
View more of Fast Ed’s photo series by clicking here.
Click here to learn more about A Taste of Harmony and how your workplace can register to get involved.
Related Posts
-
Krisztina – Reach Out
-
Matthew – Yoghurt Digital
-
Mckenzie – Yoghurt Digital
-
How many cuisines have you eaten in your life?
-
Caring about cultural diversity – AutoCare Services
-
Pride in Diversity for Major Hotel Group – Accor Hotels
-
Ayca – Yoghurt Digital
-
Why cultural diversity is an important workplace conversation
-
Sukaina – Playfair Visa and Migration Services
-
Dave – Reach Out
-
Australian Taxation Office
-
Junnan – Yoghurt Digital
-
Samantha – Playfair Visa and Migration Services
-
Tessa – Reach Out
-
Who makes the best desserts?
-
ASF Audit’s first A Taste of Harmony celebration
-
City of Whittlesea
-
Carly Day: Learning more about my cultural background
-
Why your workplace should celebrate A Taste of Harmony
-
Chung Jae Lee: My Korean heritage
-
Australia Post – 10 year participant and major supporter
-
A Taste of Harmony brings ‘Besties’ together – Best and Less
-
How entrepreneurship enables economic independence for migrant women
-
Phoebe – Playfair Visa and Migration Services
-
Flourish Australia leads by example, and wins a visit by Celebrity Chef, Fast Ed!
-
Tammy – Playfair Visa and Migration Services
-
Centre for Multicultural Youth
-
What’s your favourite food?
-
Cristina – Playfair Visa and Migration Services
-
Mitchell – Reach Out
-
Fast Ed’s A Taste of Harmony Photo Series
-
Dominique Rizzo: What I learnt about my cultural heritage
-
Gilad – Yoghurt Digital
-
Kristin – Playfair Visa and Migration Services
-
Joe – Yoghurt Digital
-
How a garden in a Brighton backyard is connecting cultures
-
How does your heritage affect what you eat?
-
William Ross
-
Department of Local Government, Racing and Multicultural Affairs, QLD
-
What does food mean to you?
-
A workplace champion for harmony – Department of Human Services
-
4 reasons to introduce A Taste of Harmony to your workplace
-
Multiculturalism a key ingredient of Melbourne’s ‘happy cafe’
-
Emma – Blackbird PR
-
Arq Group
-
Angel – Reach Out
-
What did you eat today?
-
Melissa Leong – Learning more about my cultural heritage
-
Metro South Health
-
Cultural cuisines you may never have tried (and should!)
-
Sally – Blackbird PR
-
Petra – Playfair Visa and Migration Services
-
Newmont
-
Maxine – Reach Out
-
What’s in your pantry?
-
A Taste of Harmony at Harding Martin
-
What is Australian cuisine?
-
What makes Australian food culture so diverse?