Living it up in namma Bengaluru

Living it up in namma Bengaluru
Deccan Herald

Wayne Lewis and his family sound like any other family in our City. Parents living in apartments on Koramangala-Indiranagar Ring Road and kids away in a ‘foreign country’. But Wayne Lewis and his family are, to put it simply, Australian-Bangaloreans!

Wayne is the Victorian Government Commissioner to India and is responsible for the Victorian Government’s Indian presence and operates from the newly established Victorian Government office in Bangalore.

Wayne and his wife Bryony live in Bangalore while their son and daughter are back in Australia. Metrolife caught up with this fun- loving family recently when their daughter, Holly was on a visit here.

How has it been adjusting to life in Bangalore? Says Wayne, “Bangalore is such an international city and so it hasn’t been that difficult to adjust here. Though they are different, in many ways Bangalore and Melbourne are similar too because Melbourne is also an IT, Biotech, Garden and University City.”

Bryony dressed in a simple cotton salwar speaks up, “Bangalore is a nice city and I’ve found lots of things to do. And my kids and I love India! We travel a lot and of course, go shopping.”

Bryony and her daughter Holly wear Indian clothes most of the time while in India. “In a city like Bangalore it is all right but in most other cities, if we aren’t of Indian origin then wearing Indian clothes tells people that we live here and aren’t tourists.” Bryony has now settled down well in Bangalore and she is in fact part of a women’s club , the members of which are foreigners living in the country.

She says , “One is surprised at the number of Australians living in this city alone. The club is now helping the new comers settle in.”

While Bryony is busy with her women’s club for foreigners living in India, Wayne’s work requires him to travel across the country.

In his free time, Wayne, like any true-blue Australian loves yachting and biking. While his beloved boat is anchored back in Australia, his precious bicycle has been brought down. Wayne is an avid biker and takes his bicycle out on weekends and does long distance trips. He even rode all the way to Nandi Hills on his bike!

Says Wayne, “I lose my way and cycle into little villages and this is the best way to explore a country. And the people are friendly and hospitable. I sit in tiny tea shops and drink some tea and eat a dosa while I talk to these people.”

While Wayne has his ways of exploring the country, his daughter Holly has her own agenda. “I love going to Commercial Street. I love the jewellery, the colours and the clothes. I go into the small side streets to buy junk jewellery,” says Holly who has an Indian princess-theme bedroom.

The family spends a lot of time in their terrace garden. The garden is also their prized possession and they won an award for it last year.

And as we talk about all things Indian, Bollywood is of course an essential topic. “We tried Bollywood dancing classes recently,” says Bryony excitedly. “It was loads of fun and also quite difficult for us,” adds Holly.

“Our favourite movie is ‘Salaam Namaste’, because it’s been shot in Melbourne and it stars my favourite actor Saif,” says Wayne. “In fact, after the movie, everyone who came down to Melbourne wanted a house just like the one in the movie. We found it tough to convince them that not everyone in Melbourne lives in a huge house by the beach,” says Wayne, laughing.

The family hopes to see much more of the country and have as much fun as possible along the way.