The Hindu Business Line : Of quarantine laws & food security

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Of quarantine laws & food security

Raghuvir Srinivasan

THE AUSTRALIAN Parliament building at Canberra. — Raghuvir Srinivasan

The warnings started coming well before the trip. "Make sure you don't take any food stuffs with you," said one well-meaning friend who had travelled to Sydney. "Or if you insist you need your Indian food, then declare it at the Australian Customs. Their dogs can sniff out the last morsel of food in your luggage and if you are caught taking food items into the country without clearance you could land in a spot of trouble that includes a hefty fine," he added.

Yet, one was engulfed by a sense of paranoia on landing at Sydney international airport thanks to the innumerable billboards placed all over the immigration lounge and arrival hall about the strict quarantine rules in Australia and the fines for violators. And the sniffer dogs running all over the place and behind the trolleys of unsuspecting passengers only added to one's discomfort.

So it was with some trepidation that I joined the long red channel queue with a wary eye out for the dogs. Packed in my suitcase were the offending items — a few packets of ready to eat Indian vegetarian food — and I was wondering if they would pass the test or would I have to starve. The dogs thankfully left me alone and after a wait of almost an hour-and-a-half one finally came face-to-face with a polite and courteous Customs inspector who just waved one on after taking a quick look at one of the MTR ready to eat packets with a "I'll see you next time". And I rolled my trolley out before the lady could change her mind, relieved that my food security for the next fortnight was intact.

*****

As capital cities go, Canberra (pronounced by Aussies as Cam-bra) must be one of the quietest and smallest. Our host in Sydney, Warwick Chuck of the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade, had earlier warned us not to expect Canberra to be a city of large proportions. We were reminded of his comment the moment we landed at the capital's airport, which is about as large as a regional town airport in India and boasts of a single baggage carousel.

The small size notwithstanding, Canberra has character. The Australian capital reminded one of good old Chandigarh the way it has been planned and laid out in a modular fashion with a lot of greenery. Planned and designed by a Chicago architect called Walter Burley Griffin, Canberra became the capital of the Australian commonwealth in the early part of the last century as a compromise between Melbourne and Sydney.

*****

Canberra is home to the Australian National University reputed to be the best in the country. We came back impressed from a meeting with Prof. Robin Jeffrey who is Director of the Research School of Pacific and Asian Studies at the university. Prof. Jeffrey is widely travelled in India and is an expert on the country, especially Kerala and West Bengal.

He regaled us with anecdotes of his visits, pictures taken during his sojourn and his insightful observations on the Indian media, which he has studied in depth. His collection of books on India would put a library to shame and it was sad indeed that our schedule permitted no more than a 45-minute meeting with him.

*****

Canberra boasts of a few Indian restaurants with the Jewel of India, located close to the cricket stadium at Manuka, being one of the best. Run by a South Indian couple Venkatesh and Anandi, the restaurant is a favourite of the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade. So much so that our host for the lunch that afternoon, Philip Stonehouse, Director in the India and South Asia section, was mentioning that Venkatesh knows exactly what he and his colleagues eat when they dine there!

Venkatesh migrated to Australia in 1990 and made it big in the restaurant business first in Sydney and later in Canberra. Incidentally, he caters to the Indian cricket team whenever it tours Canberra and Sydney.

And yes, the food is as authentically Indian as it could possibly get in a foreign land!

(To be continued)

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