Last Friday, I was invited for a special tete-e-tete organized by the Australia India Institute (AII) in Melbourne.
At 2pm, I saw more than 100 people crammed into Australia India Institute’s top floor having animated conversations over a cup of chai (tea) or the mouth-watering samosas.
The crowd comprised of students from the University of Melbourne, academics, Indian-Australians and members of the public who love meeting and sharing their mutual love and issues about India.
Source: AII
‘Drop in chai’ is special session organized by AII every alternate Friday and is open to public where the binding factor is conversations over a cup of chai and Indian snacks.
Prof. Craig Jeffrey, director of the Australia-India Institute, told SBS Hindi that during his time in India he noticed that a lot of conversations and debates happened around chai stalls in the city. “So I wanted to recreate that atmosphere of the adda in Melbourne and invite people from all sorts of background, from universities in Melbourne to the business community and members of the public to talk about their enthusiasm for India.”
Source: AII
Source: AII
Source: AII
These sessions began in March this year and were initially formal sit-down sessions but later the institute decided to keep it an informal conversational platform without a set agenda as they realized that chai was a lovely occasion for people to talk more informally.
Their decision to keep this informal translated into huge crowds turning up for these events. Since July, drop-in chai sees over a hundred people gather every alternate Friday to discuss everything they love, admire or learn about India.
For Rahul Deb Das, a PhD candidate at the University of Melbourne, these sessions are opportunities to teach his multicultural friends about India, Indian culture and Indian food. “I have brought my two of fellow classmates from China today. In last few years that we have spent together, one of them has learnt to speak Hindi and he also enjoys coming here for these sessions, especially because there are samosas.”
Source: AII
These sessions also provide international students like him to mingle with other students and network within the community.
Surabhi Gupta has recently arrived in Melbourne from India. She is pursuing PhD with the University of Melbourne and says she feels at home during these sessions. “I was so happy to see that my university has a special institute dedicated to Australia’s relations with India. It makes me feel at home. The sessions organized here helps me keep in touch with issues in India. I also get to meet new people who are equally interested in what is happening in India. Also I have met so many people here whom I would have never met otherwise,” she says.
