Chapters (30)
‘Kunji, you’re so dramatic. You get that from your grandmother,’ he replied, cuddling her. ‘We have an oor, here in Sydney. It’s not so much a village or a place, the way it used to be, but a collection of people. We have an oor in our community of cousins and friends.’
She felt a little happier.
‘I’m not trying to be contrary, I just want being Tamil to be considered a valuable part of being Australian.’
‘I don’t know if it is or it will be,’ she said, pensive. ‘But maybe we should start watching SBS in the meantime.’
•
Priya rolled her eyes. ‘What’s the point of moving to Sydney if you’re going to live on the North Shore? Everyone else is in Strathfield.’
Smrithi sighed. ‘If by everyone else, you mean the rest of our extended family, I know they’re all in the inner-west. We’ve tried to like it, honestly, Amma, we have. But we prefer the North Shore.’
Her parents’ suburb of Strathfield was also known as Strathpuram for its high concentration of Sri Lankan Tamils. Rajan called it the Wellawatte of Sydney. But its ethnic face was changing, becoming increasingly East Asian.
‘Amma, we have no problem with Sri Lankans, or South Asians, or East Asians, or any Asians. We used to be British Asians. We just don’t want to live in a suburb that’s dominated by one or a few ethnic groups, even our own. Prashanth is worried about Sydney’s “ethnic ghettos”,’ she said.
‘Seriously, mahal, you forget that I too lived in London. Golders Green, Hounslow, Tower Hamlets and Tooting could also be described as “ethnic ghettos”. You lived in Primrose Hill for ten years—from memory, it had an exciting ethnic mix of international expats. It was hardly demographically representative of London, or Britain either.’
Smrithi hated it when her mother was right. In London they only saw a diverse mix of British people when they left Primrose Hill and the business district to go to Heathrow Airport, and then they were reminded of why they lived in Primrose Hill.
‘Okay, Amma. I don’t expect you to support our decision, but I would really like it if you could visit us “up north”, if it isn’t too far away from Strathpuram. The North Shore has a good mix of cultures, excellent schools, efficient public transport and enormous houses. I think you’ll like it.’
‘Perhaps,’ Amma replied. ‘Your grandfather calls it the Cinnamon Gardens of Sydney. He thinks it’s ironic you want to move there.’
‘Appappa thinks everything is ironic,’ Smrithi laughed.