WELCOME: Chandan Roy with his wife Paramita. Mr Roy officially became an Australian citizen on Saturday. Photo: LUKE SCHUYLER
FOR Indian-born Chandan Roy, Saturday marked a whole new chapter in his life as he recited the pledge to become an Australian citizen nine years since he moved from Calcutta.
Mr Roy made his affirmation in front of his excited wife Paramita who has been in Australia for five months.
The couple hopes in four years’ time it will be Mrs Roy on the stage officially becoming an Australian.
Thirteen residents hailing from countries as diverse as Spain, Russia, Pakistan, the UK, India, and the Philippines took the opportunity of Australia Day to become citizens.
Zonta Orange’s Loretta Thurtell presented the new citizens with native plants to mark the occasion.
“It’s lovely to see the happy faces of the new citizens of our town,” she said.
“It takes a lot of courage to leave people you love and the land you know to make the big step to come to another country.”
Mr Roy first came to Australia to study a double degree bachelor of electrical engineering at Victoria University.
When he finished in December 2007, he began a career as an engineer and moved around the country working in Brisbane, Tasmania, and Melbourne before finally taking a job at Electrolux in Orange.
“I’m settled here so I thought I should be part of the country because I’m not going back to my country,” he said.
While he admits he misses his parents and family in India, he said Australia has become his second home.
Mr Roy said the best thing about Australia was the culture and the politics.
“In that there is no politics,” he said.
“People are very generous and its pollution free.”
Coming from the major metropolitan city of Calcutta Mr Roy enjoys Orange’s clean air.
Mr Roy has returned to India since he moved to Australia and it was there he met his IT professional wife Paramita also from Calcutta.
She hopes to secure a job in Orange and looks forward to the day when she too can become a citizen.