Growing up in Calcutta was a lot of fun. Of course it was very crowded, but there were many communities living together – Hindu, Jewish, Muslim, Chinese, Armenian, and we young people would all join in whatever festival was happening, whether that was Chinese New Year or Christmas. On the other hand, living there also brought you face to face with life and death. It wasn’t unusual to see malnourished or dying people in the street - that was just what happened.
I was 16 when we moved to Adelaide. I remember it was a bit of a surprise to me . . .