Inside this Week
Eureka Prize winner | 16-year-old AI innovator | Bengaluru didgeridoo player | Aus cricketers take wine to India | Indian polocrosse player | Gori’s Delhi travel diaries
Just Wanted to Say
Half of Australians aged 18–29 still live at home, according to this year’s HILDA survey, the highest level in 25 years, and unsurprising given today’s brutal cost of living.
But intergenerational households have long been central to South Asian life. These days, staying home not only preserves cultural bonds, it makes financial sense.
This clashes with the Western idea that your twenties should be all independence and freedom. Sure, moving out has its perks — I could certainly live without the morning kitchen clatter and bhajans.
But with cost-of-living only worsening, maybe we Indian-Australians ought to release the pressure to move out and embrace tradition?
Story of the Week
Finding a threatened species in a vast landscape is like searching for a needle in a haystack. Data ecologist Abhimanyu Raj Singh explains how Eureka Prize-winning platform EcoCommons helps conservationists pick the right haystack.
In Other News
Most of us just wait at red lights,but Revant Pandey is teaching them to think. Now a 2026 Geelong Youth Award winner for Innovation, the self-taught 16-year-old is ready to solve big problems with AI and programming.
An ancient Aboriginal instrument has found an unlikely champion in a Bengaluru engineer. Self-taught Brandon Colaco is now making the didgeridoo groove to Bollywood, jazz and electronica, with dreams of learning from Australia's Elders.
Alyssa Healy is in her chardonnay era, says Mitchell Starc. Now, along with Starc and Lisa Sthalekar, she wants India to join in. Their venture, Corked Willow, bets India's love of cricket can open doors for Australian wine in a fast-growing market.
Australia's homegrown horseback sport has an unlikely star in a Melbourne equine dentist. Jairaj Rajaram, polocrosse's only Indian-origin player, spends weekdays treating horses' teeth and weekends chasing goals in the saddle.
Delhi drivers turn six lanes into 15, cows moonlight as roadblocks, and her husband, the Big Bald Bugger, is not thrilled about his new man bag. A clueless gori arrives expecting the worst and falls for the city instead.
Shoutouts
Mish Kumar-Jonson, who has been inducted into the Victorian Honour Roll of Women for 2026.
Dr Ekta Sharma, who has been appointed as Lead Research Advisor on a National Intelligence Postdoctoral Grant (NIPG) awarded through Australia’s Office of National Intelligence.
Saksham Sharma (AKA Saksham Magic on YouTube), who was selected for Creator Lab Australia by BBC Studios.
Powerhouse Parramatta’s 23-day festival program, featuring members of our community in talks (Bharti Kher, Pico Iyer and Gopalkrishna Gandhi), food events (Helly Raichura and Asma Khan), music (Priya Ragu and a Diwali Day Party) and performances (A Swell of Stars) developed alongside S. Shakthidharan’s memoir Gather Up Your World in One Long Breath.
Word on the Street
What has technology made surprisingly harder?
In last week’s poll, 96.55% of you said you migrated to Australia as adults, while 3.45% were born in Australia, and no respondents said they migrated as children.
What’s On
The Maestro is coming to Sydney’s Palais Theatre. Padma Vibhushan awardee Ilaiyaraaja celebrates 50 extraordinary years of timeless melodies live, joined by S.P. Charan, Haricharan, and other special guests. An evening that will move you from the very first note!
For more head to our What’s On page.
Say it Again
I like nonsense, it wakes up the brain cells. Fantasy is a necessary ingredient in living. It’s a way of looking at life through the wrong end of a telescope.
Until next week,
Indian Link
