Seniors Week and Harmony Day celebrations combined at Hurstville Senior Citizens Centre on Thursday (March 20) amid curries, colourful saris and a book on family histories.
Resourceful Australian Indian Network Inc (RAIN) members came together to launch a book in which many of them starred: Travel Through Time: life stories and memories of Indian seniors.
With the help of a community development grant from Kogarah Council and lots of encouragement from Dr Sudha Natarajan, a RAIN founder, members went far back into their histories to tell their stories.
Personal historian and photographer Lily Zdiler edited the stories and designed the book.
With 16 authors, the book is full of details of what life was like in India when they were young and includes personal experiences of Indian independence and Mahatma Gandhi. Mother Teresa is mentioned, too.
One of the authors, Vedavalli Srinivasan, said RAIN members were so pleased with the book that they each bought several copies to pass on to their families.
Should family histories be collected before people get too old to remember them?
