INDIRA LAISRAM

I was up at 6 am on Sunday, the call of duty. Travelling three hours to Warrnambool in a bus full of one tribe and me the only outsider was pretty daunting. And daunting was also my task to report live before a camera, record interviews for a print story and, if possible, click pictures too. As the bus pulled away from the Blackburn gurudwara with the chant of prayers, I was up in action taking the soundbytes of people. It was a nice bonhomie inside the bus. The women were excited to meet Kapil Dev, an elderly woman came up to me and asked me to click a picture of hers with him so she could show her son. The men were happy rolling out the snacks - pakoras, chips, grams, and kept passing on to one and all. I was in for Punjabi hospitality, and fed well. But it was also a historic journey of sorts. Punjabis of all generation were seated in the three buses that were all headed towards one direction. It is remarkable that the community kept aside all commitments and showed up in strength

Two friends have visited the US the same time. I was amused by both their reactions. Friend one and partner travelled from India to Las Vegas, California and New York and came back raving about the States. The hustle and bustle and the night life, the fashion and food were just too good for them. Friend two and partner travelled all the way from Europe to America. She said, "It’s like a world village. When you get dosa on a cart in New York...no wonder Indians love US...they think it's like India but more developed.” And both agree that the beauty of the US is that every race, cast, creed, character assimilate so well, which probably means less racism than other parts of the world. I think of Sydney and I feel the US is probably a bigger version of it. I can’t help thinking that in today’s time every big country and city in the world is like a global village and a UN headquarter where every culture and cuisines of the world coexist. When friend two told me about her American