“The kids are more Australian than they will be Indian”

The characters, Papaji (Grandpa) and Aaji (Grandma) felt like four-dimensional characters. Their motivations were clearly expressed. It’s a rarity that older characters get the spotlight, so it was a fresh breath of air to see a story involving characters that are over 50 years of age.

One of the themes of the play is the struggle with loneliness in a new country. In one scene, Aaji mentions how back in India it’s always noisy but in Australia, it’s very quiet and she has no one to talk to other than her husband. Later in the play, we learn that Papaji and Aaji have both suffered personal trauma and they consider moving back to India permanently at one point.

Although this struggle is relatable for every first-generation immigrant, I couldn’t help but feel the characters were seeking sympathy. Aaji is part of a rich Indian family, she didn’t have to work to support herself and Papaji in Australia and she admitted that her family sometimes got on her nerves and she wanted to move away from them. Compare that to the majority of Indian immigrants who move to Australia, where they have to slave away at a job they hate such as cleaning toilets or doing graveyard shifts at a petrol station. Perhaps the loneliness Aaji felt served as a caution to be careful what you wish for, but personally that didn’t work for me.

 

The moment that stood out for me was when Papaji noted how their children won’t know about Indian culture and their heritage since they will have spent their whole lives in Australia. This is a fear felt by many first gen immigrants and in this situation it is easy to empathise with Papaji. The acting is really solid and the jokes land well. Neel Banerjee directs the hell out of this play, you can feel the weight of every decision the protagonists make. However, at times this play seemed like it wanted too much sympathy from its audience towards the protagonists, who didn’t really struggle all that much. Also, there weren’t really any high stakes. Suppose the move to Australia didn’t work out for the protagonists. They just would’ve gone back to their great lives back in India, surrounded by people they love. This didn’t seem like high stakes to me, hence my criticism. However I did enjoy most of the play. I loved the moments when the actors were delivering their lines while looking at the audience, trying to break the fourth wall, and when they were poking fun at both Australian and Indian culture.

Overall, this is a good play which produces many laughs from the audience and some moments of poignancy. I recommend this play to anyone who is interested in the experience of moving to a different country.n Years To Home by Sonal Moore | Directed by: Neel Banerjee | Producer Nautanki Theatre