It was a pleasant surprise to watch a very interesting and enjoyable conversation – a conversation between Australian Prime Minister Julia Gillard and former India cricketer turned TV commentator Ravi Shastri.
And what a place to have this talk- in the commentary box at Sydney cricket Ground (SCG) on the occasion of 100th test match at SCG and also a pink day. This is the day when everyone at SCG wears pink to pledge their support toward the McGrath foundation for breast cancer.
The conversation lasted about 10 minutes but the impact was big. First Ravi talked about the current state of the match and Julia mentioned that she is still learning about the game. It was interesting to know that Australian government is spending $186 million (Australian dollars I guess!) on the redevelopment of SCG in preparation for the 2015 cricket world cup in Australia. An immediate question posed by Ravi was when the ground will be completed to which Julia responded we will not let the grass grow; it will be done before the world cup deadline – a typical Aussie style punching response.
Next Julia acknowledged the contribution of the huge Indian diaspora in Australia (this must have felt good to the Indian community particularly in these days when hate crime is seeing a rise again). When Ravi talked about the great rivalry between India and Australia on the cricket field Julia quickly veered the conversation towards how much India & Australia have in common – democracy, language and past history. Julia then mentioned about her focus on the co-operation related to education between the two countries which can strengthen the people to people contact. Quite fittingly, the conversation ended around the great Indian curry. And no surprises that the Australian PM loves Indian food!
What came out from this conversation was the charming personality of the Australian PM. She seemed to be very open, friendly and interested in strengthening the co-operation between the two countries which augurs well for both nations. A lot of credit goes to Ravi Shastri for managing this conversation so well.
On a day when the Indian bowling was mauled at the SCG this was the only bright spot of the day!
About Julia Gillard
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Julia_Gillard
About Ravi Shastri
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ravi_Shastri
Thursday, January 5, 2012
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