On the Grapevine | Something different

Meeting Kushi Yadav, it didn’t take long to understand why. Throughout our conversation, one phrase kept appearing: “This is something different.”

She said it when she discovered Thompson's Beach, she said it when experiencing Australian football, golf and even the curious tradition of Australians celebrating by drinking beer from a shoe.

It wasn't simply a favourite saying, it was Kushi's way of embracing life ― every new experience, friendship and discovery was something to be welcomed wholeheartedly.

Originally from Haryana, one of India’s major agricultural states, Kushi grew up surrounded by crops, livestock and country life.

Her grandfather was a farmer, and although she later studied medicine, she still describes herself as a ‘country girl’.

Kushi’s father chose a different career as a police officer, while her mother dedicated herself to raising the family.

“My parents always pushed me to do something better with my life if I had the opportunity,” she said.

That encouragement gave Kushi the confidence and freedom to follow her own path, completing a Bachelor of Medicine and Surgery.

After working for two years as a medical officer in northern India, Kushi decided to broaden her horizons.

At 26, Kushi arrived in Australia alone to complete a Master of Public Health at Deakin University.

Back home, her parents admired her courage, and despite the distance, she still speaks with them every evening by video call.

Kushi originally imagined she would complete her studies before returning home, but instead, she decided to keep exploring.

While studying, she volunteered with an Aboriginal community in the Yarra Valley during the bushfires, strengthening an interest in a culture she had first heard about in India.

“I’d heard First Nations people were connected with nature and the land,” she said.

More recently, she visited the Sporties’ Bullanginya Dreaming light show.

“Oh my goodness, it was the best experience I’ve had since been in Australia,” she said, laughing.

Nature continually captures her attention ― she notices Australia’s clean rivers, native birds and protected forests.

“I love nature, I literally sit at Thompson’s Beach for hours looking up at the stars, it’s lovely,” she said.

When she first discovered Cobram had its own beach beside the Murray River she laughed and said: “This is something different.”

After completing her master’s, she looked beyond Melbourne and found an opportunity in Cobram.

It appealed because it offered something different from city life, with nature close by and none of Melbourne’s constant busyness.

Although qualified as a doctor in India, Kushi is now working through the lengthy process of Australian registration.

Her long-term ambition is to combine medicine with public health, particularly health promotion.

“Public health is about working with people, you help people with whatever problems they are facing,” she said.

For Kushi, that can mean anything from disease outbreaks and mental health to domestic violence and bushfires, bringing together councils, counsellors, social workers and other organisations to find solutions.

She hopes one day to work with organisations such as the World Health Organization or UNICEF.

Today, she works at Bluebird Kindergarten as an early childhood teacher.

While working with children in Melbourne, she was fascinated to see that, given a choice of toys, many were instead drawn to pebbles, leaves and the natural world around them.

“They teach you something different, they learn from you, and you learn from them,” she said.

Working in aged care while studying in Melbourne had already taught her another set of lessons.

She loved sitting with residents, listening to their stories and learning about the lives they had lived.

It also introduced her to another uniquely Australian pastime ― footy tipping.

She laughed, remembering how residents who rarely left their rooms suddenly gathered each week to discuss football.

“I sat with them and when someone kicked a goal I was yelling, ‘Go, go, go,’” she said.

Today she rarely misses a match and has attended many AFL games, travelling to Finley to watch local football and proudly follows the Fremantle Dockers.

“They never give up, they keep fighting until the end,” she said.

Kushi has also learnt to play golf, discovered ping pong and developed a taste for toasted banana bread with butter.

She now lives in the beautifully renovated accommodation at the Bottom Pub, where she has met some wonderful people and enjoys catching up with friends over coffee at The Corner Shop opposite.

Kushi admitted she was a little nervous moving from Melbourne to a country town.

“I wasn’t sure if people would accept me, but they accepted me very beautifully,” she said.

The friendships she has in Cobram have made the town an important part of her Australian journey.

Wherever life leads Kushi Yadav, there will undoubtedly be more people, places and cultures to discover — and you can almost predict her reaction.

She’ll smile and say, “This is something different.”