By Oliver Lees
While some adults confess to having never learned the words to the Australian national anthem, there’s one enthusiastic toddler that already has the tune mastered.
At just two years of age, Mia Saakhalkar could be Sunbury’s youngest singing superstar.
Mia’s mother Dipti said her daughter was playing with her toys one day, when suddenly, she belted out Advance Australia Fair from pillar to post.
“We were astonished,” Dipti said.
The first time we heard her sing it we were moved to tears, we knew we had to share with everyone else.”
Mia’s spontaneous performance is not a complete aberration.
Her parents Dipti and Saab are often playing the anthem and other Australian classics including Waltzing Matilda and True Blue in the car and around the home.
Originally from Mumbai India, Dipti and Saab relocated to Australia looking for a better life in 2014. Dipti said her husband had always had a “special connection” to Australia, which factored into their decision.
“As a child he would often draw the Australian flag and would even support Australia in the cricket,” she said.
After first settling in Sydney, the pair were on the lookout for the best place to buy a home and raise their daughter.
Dipti said it was a day trip out to Hanging Rock where they met a handful of friendly locals that convinced them Sunbury was where they wanted to raise a family.
“Mostly what attracted us was the location, being close enough to the city but still being out in the country. We drove through this beautiful suburb, and we felt the warmth and kindness of the town and its people.
“Being a migrant who came to this country and this land gave us everything…so as parents we couldn’t be more proud to hear her sing the anthem.”
