Meet Monisha
With the Coronavirus at the forefront of everyone's minds at the moment, The Benevolent Society’s Newsroom Team took a little time out for ‘5 in 5’ (five minutes, five questions) with the Support Centre’s Monisha D'souza, Team Leader of the Disability Connect Team, to learn more about her cultural heritage during Harmony Week (15 – 21 March).
This year marks the twentieth anniversary of celebrating Harmony Day, which is a time of cultural respect for everyone who calls Australia home - from the traditional owners of the land, to those who've come from many countries around the world or whose families over generations have lived in Australia - everyone belongs.
Monisha won a Benevolent Society Best Life Award in 2019 for her amazing work as a leader during a significant period of change. She’s known for sharing Indian recipes with her peers and gifting Indian spices and ingredients to inspire others to experience a taste of her culture.
5 in 5 with Monisha
- Tell us a little about your cultural heritage and back ground…where are you and your family from?
I am from a small town Vadodara on the western side of India. I speak Hindi which is the national language of India and Gujarati (pronounced gooj-ju-rati), which is predominately spoken in Gujarat - which is a state in India.
Gujarat is well known for the state’s traditional dance named ‘Garba.’ Garba is a danced over nine consecutive nights during the Navrati Festival when thousands of people get together to dance for nine nights.
- What’s a traditional custom your family follows?
We celebrate Diwali which is called ‘The festival of lights’ over five days with each day having its own significance. Our New Year falls during those five days which involves my family visiting the temple, we wear new and vibrant clothing, the family come together and celebrate over a delicious feast and our elders give money as gifts and for good fortune.
- Are there other events your family celebrate?
We also celebrate Holi also known as ‘The festival of colours.’ This is a time when we burn and worship fire and when the summer season begins. We play with colours and water bombs in the streets amongst large crowds or with our families.
- What’s your favourite family dish?
Chicken Biryani. Its chicken and potato cooked with lots of spices in layers of rice. It’s so delicious!
- How do you stay connected to your culture living in Australia?
Our family go to the temple every Tuesday and I fast every Tuesday. I don’t have a big family here in Australia so I celebrate our culture mainly with friends who are like family. We celebrate like we’re in India. I also love wearing the traditional ‘Sari, usually wrapped around the waist with one end draped over the shoulder, especially during our cultural festivities.
Monisha is part of the Support Centre who are a culturally diverse team that collectively speak up to 13 different languages including: Hindi, Gujarati, Cantonese, Mandarin, Vietnamese, Portuguese, Spanish, Fijian Hindi, Japanese, Tagalog, Persian; and Italian.