When Deepak-Raj Gupta arrived on Australian shores 32 years ago, he planned to finish his studies then return home to India.
He must be glad he didn't.
Mr Gupta has been awarded a Medal of the Order of Australia in recognition of his service to Canberra, a city and community which is now well and truly his home.
"I never thought that this country would honor me so much," Mr Gupta said.
A leader in Canberra's multicultural community, Mr Gupta was the founding president of the Canberra India Council, served on the board of Australia India Council and set up the World Curry Festival.
But he is perhaps best known to the wider Canberra community as the first Indian-born person elected to the ACT Legislative Assembly.
The Labor MLA's stint in territory politics lasted less than 18 months after he failed to retain his seat in the Gungahlin-based electorate of Yerrabi at the 2020 election.
But the short-lived career which inspired a community might never have happened at all, had Mr Gupta not resolved to break through the structural and cultural barriers which have long made politics the domain of the white and middle class.
"You're wasting your time". "It's a white culture". "You've got no chance".
These were but some of the messages waiting for the father-of-two as he stepped in the world of political campaigning.
"I thought well, OK, that was a good challenge. I might have to go prove that person wrong," he said.
He didn't at first, placing last on Labor's Yerrabi ticket at the 2016 election.
But the shock retirement of former health and transport minister Meegan Fitzharris, and the earlier tragic death of the man who would have replaced her, Jayson Hinder, created an opening for the long-time public servant.
He delivered his inaugural speech to the ACT Legislative Assembly before a packed public gallery on July 30, 2019.
Though his stint on Andrew Barr's backbench was brief, Mr Gutpa believes his presence in the Assembly sent a powerful message to people from migrant backgrounds.
"I thought my coming there [into the Assembly] was a great pride not only for me, but for other people of colour," he said.
"People thought that apart from being a good doctor, or in the public service, we can also be part of the decision making. We could be representing not only a block of the community, but the whole community."
Mr Gupta admits the election defeat was a setback. He openly questions if sections of the Canberra community are still not ready to accept people from diverse backgrounds.
He hasn't made up his mind as to whether he'll run again.
But if not in political office, he'll be serving the community one way or another.
"It's kind of a passion, a hobby," he said of community service.
"The best way I can unwind myself is to give back to the community. If any of my actions can result in helping someone, I get a lot of satisfaction out of that."
