WHEN Pancha Narayanan immigrated from his native Malaysia to New Zealand 25 years ago the locals called him a curry muncher.
“Now everyone’s eating curry,” he jokes. “The New Zealand palate has come a long way.”
Pancha, who is of Indian descent, came to New Zealand as a student. He was studying at Auckland University when Pohswan, whose ancestry is Chinese, came from Malaysia to join him. They married, and five years later moved to Wellington with their two children, Anantha, 21, and Yasodha, 19.
“When we  said we were moving to Wellington our friends in Auckland said, ‘why are you going to such an old ulu (outback) place?’,” Pancha says.
There were only a handful of Asian restaurants when the Narayanan family arrived in Wellington, and they only served Chinese or Indian dishes toned down for the western palate.
“I used to have to get my own herbs and spices sent from home,” Pohswan says. “They used to dry it, parcel it up, and post it to me.”
How things have changed. Pohswan can now get her herbs from Wellington markets.
Pancha says now some Malaysian food is better here than in Malaysia. He tells the story of a visiting Malaysian friend who thought the prawns he’s tasted while dining at a Wellington Malaysian restaurant were the best he’d ever had.
“When I asked the guy in the restaurant where the prawns came from, they looked in the freezer and said they were from Malaysia.”
The Nayanan family have settled in Upper Hutt. Pohswan is a bank manager and Pancha works as a private consultant. Life is comfortable, but it hasn’t always been easy. There has been racism, and an incident involving their son Anantha, when a student at Otago University’s St Margarets College, is still raw.
“My son was not allowed to attend dinner at the college wearing his native clothes,” Pancha says. “And this only occurred two years ago.”
But overall the Narayanan’s experience in New Zealand has been a good one.
“New Zealand is a fantastic country,” Pancha says. “New Zealanders are straight up, honest, charitable, and one of the most travelled people in the world. I’m grateful to be here, to have my family and home here.”
With the experience of immigration behind them the Narayanans have involved themselves in helping new immigrants. Pohswan runs workshops for migrant women and children, while Pancho is a Past Chairman of the NZ Federation of Multi Cultural Councils. Pancha says one of the biggest problems facing immigrants trying to settle here was their lack of knowledge of New Zealand culture and the absence of any induction for new arrivals to this country.  
“There is no induction pack or anything given to immigrants. Therefore immigrants don’t know their rights, they don’t know anything about the Resource Management Act, they know nothing of tikanga. New migrants tend to rely on the information given to them by their immigrant predecessors, and if their predecessors aren’t well informed, well that bad information just gets transposed a second time.”
Pancha says the dominant culture in New Zealand sometimes sets up barriers for new arrivals.
“Some of the systems only work with those who can understand the traditional Westminster system.”
He says while new arrivals often find work, the acceptance of migrants into leadership roles has been gradual.
“The experience of migrants in New Zealand has been no different than those of Maori or women,” Pancha says.
For many migrant women, however, immigration can be a liberating experience. Pohswan, who runs “settling in” workshops, says women often adjust to the New Zealand environment better than men.
“At home they were recognised as somebody’s wife but here they’re recognised as a person in their own right, they have their own mana. That’s quite a different concept for many of them.”
A negative spinoff of this increased self awareness has been a rise in tension within traditional male-dominated families, and this tension sometimes leads to violence within the family.
Pancha says cultural events such as this Saturday’s Asian night market at Frank Kitts Park are a good strengthening tool for immigrants, giving them a chance to be proud of their culture and share familiar food and customs with other families.”
“But,” says Pancha, “ it shouldn’t be about Asians selling food to Pakeha and Maori. It’s about second and third generation New Zealanders being able to cook a good beef rendang at home.”

Asia comes to Wellington
THE sights, sounds and aromas of Asia will come alive in Wellington on Saturday with the third Southeast Asian night market being held on the waterfront.
Ten countries will be represented bringing food, crafts and non-stop entertainment, from Indonesian puppetry to Malaysian tea pulling.
A special highlight of the festival will be Thai performance artist, Wit Pimkanchanapong, and his paper fruit making demonstration.
The night market runs from Frank Kitts Park - Shed 8, 4pm - 10pm, 16 April.

Niels Reinsborg