Cricket a language for new Aussies

New Australian citizen Mukesh Kumar says his love of cricket helped him and his family understand the nation’s vernacular.

Mukesh Kumar with his wife Shilpi and daughters Misha, 9, and Prisha, 6, at their home in Sydney’s west. Picture: Britta Campion

Australian slang can be a tough barrier for most migrants, but Mukesh Kumar says his love of cricket gave him and his wife more than a sporting chance of grappling with the nation’s fair dinkum vernacular when they moved to Sydney.

“We were a educated on those kind of things because of the cricket,” the 34-year-old said. “With all the sledging between the Indian and Australian cricket teams, we were quite aware of the slang.”

Mr Kumar and his wife, Shilpi, moved to Australia in 2010 on a temporary visa with every intention of staying a few years before returning to their native India.

That plan changed after they fell in love with the country’s democratic values like freedom of speech and gender equality — an issue all the more important since they had two daughters here.

The family, including girls Misha, 9, and Prisha, 6, are looking forward to becoming Australian citizens at a ceremony hosted by the Cumberland Council on January 26.

“I never thought that Australia would be my home, but we fell in love with it,” Mr Kumar said. “There is no discrimination based on your religion, your background, your preferences or your political alignment.

“Australia accepts everyone with open hearts and gives equal opportunity to everyone.”

Mr Kumar said they originally moved to Australia for work, and he started out as a software architect. Inspired by the “fair go” attitude, he decided to leave his job to start his own software consulting company in August 2018.

“That was the point when I started to move out and see the opportunities in Australia,” he said. “It was easy to get into entrepreneurship, in Australia. It was well supported.”

Mr Kumar’s company, Cognitonic, is a customer relationship management business that de­signs online platforms for companies where their employees lodge complaints.

“We are working with the Department of Justice on dispute- management systems,” he said.

“If someone has a dispute with their neighbour, they can go to the Department of Justice rather than going to the court.”

While Mr Kumar said he sometimes missed India, where his parents and siblings still live, his family had settled in Sydney’s west for good.

“We have so many community activities happening in Parramatta, including Holi and Diwali. Every weekend there are celebrations. This is our home now.”