Australia, India need to tell each other’s stories: Envoy Green on culture ties

India and Australia have “highly complementary” economies, and both countries produce things which fit each other’s interests, but the bilateral relationship needs to be deeper than that aspect, Australian envoy Philip Green said.

“We need to understand each other at a deeper level. We need to tell each other’s stories and hear each other’s stories,” Green said on the sidelines of an event hosted on Friday night on the premises of the Australian High Commission here.

Two Australians of Indian heritage, including India-born Reuben de Melo, who won “The Voice Australia” singing competition in 2024, entertained guests at the event, “Gig on the Green”.

“It is a very special occasion for us. You know, we are building up a multi-faceted bilateral relationship across defence and security, across economics, across education,” Green said.

The human connection that we have is a very special thing about the bilateral relationship, he said.

“There are now more than a million people of Indian origin in Australia. That’s the fastest growing community in our country, and they’re doing great things in our society, and we want them to do great things for the bilateral relationship,” the Australian envoy said.

But tonight, it’s a celebration, because two of them, Reuben de Melo and Milan Ring, both of Indian origin, who have made it in Australia’s music business, are performing for a group of friends of the High Commission, he said.

Above the economic, defence and other partnerships, the culture is an important pillar in India-Australia ties, the envoy emphasised.

He said some things between Australia and India “will always go well”, and “we are strategic partners in our region”. “We have highly complementary economies, which means that we produce things fitting each other’s interests. But we need a relationship that’s deeper than that. We need to understand each other at a deeper level. We need to tell each other’s stories and hear each other’s stories,” the envoy said.

Green said “Gig on the Green” is one of the many ways in which “we’re trying to bring the best of Australian culture and art to India, just as we welcome culture and art from India to Australia”.

And this particular facet of people of Indian origin, who have really made it in the arts and culture field in Australia, is “very special,” he asserted.

While Perth-based de Melo, an indie folk singer-songwriter, was born in Goa and moved to Australia at the age of 11, Australia-born Ring has a mixed heritage, including an Indian heritage from her mother’s family side.

“This is my first time in Delhi. Perth is my home. But I carry childhood memories of growing up, my grandma’s place, my farm in Goa, always with me,” de Melo said after his performance.

During the show, de Melo, who shot to international fame after winning the thirteenth season of “The Voice Australia”, sang a range of songs from his kitty, and also did a rendering of “Give Me Some Sunshine”, a famous number from the Bollywood movie “3 Idiots”.

Ring, an accomplished songwriter, guitarist, and producer, whose music transcends genres, performed to the gathering, delivering many songs, including many of her hitherto unreleased and untitled numbers.

“I played Quicksand, River Flows, but the majority of the songs I played are unreleased and unnamed, or have temporary names like ‘intro’ or ‘number 6’ or something like that,” she told PTI.

Ring, who flew from Sydney to Delhi for the show, said for the past couple of years, she has been based in Berlin for her work.

“I just arrived three days ago, feeling jet-lagged, overstimulated, but excited to be here. I grew up in Sydney, in the suburbs of Sydney. It’s been on top of my bucket list the whole of my life to come to India, and here I am. I am kind of pinching myself, it feels surreal,” she said.

During her stay in India, the singer said, she looks forward to experiencing the vibrant Indian culture, music and hearing the sounds of instruments like sitar and tabla, enjoying its food, and taking back a lot of memories.