Popular Malayalam actor Navya Nair, who travelled to Australia recently for ‘Onam’ celebrations organised by the Malayali Association of Victoria, was fined over AUD 1,980 at Melbourne International Airport after carrying a jasmine gajra in her handbag.
While jasmine garlands are a festive staple in South India, Australian law takes a zero-tolerance approach to bringing plant materials into the country.
Under the Australian Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry’s biosecurity regulations, fresh flowers, fruits, vegetables, seeds, and other plant matter are strictly prohibited unless declared and inspected.
Breaches can attract hefty on-the-spot fines of up to AUD 2,664 to prevent the entry of pests and diseases.
Navya recounted in an Instagram post that the gajra, just 15 cm long, was gifted by her father before her journey.
“Before I came here, it was my father who bought jasmine for me. He cut it into two parts and gave it to me. He asked me to wear one in my hair from Kochi to Singapore, since it would wither by the time I reached.”
“He told me to keep the second one in my handbag so I could wear it on the onward journey from Singapore. I put it in my carry bag,”
she said at a public event.
Her oversight proved costly. “What I did was against the law. It was a mistake I made unknowingly. However, ignorance is no excuse. For bringing a 15 cm jasmine string, officials asked me to pay a fine of AUD 1,980″.
“A mistake is a mistake, though it was not intentional. They told me the fine must be paid within 28 days,”
she added.
Navya took the incident sportingly, later posting a video collage of herself wearing the jasmine gajra with the tongue-in-cheek caption: “A show-off right before paying the fine.”
The actor, a two-time recipient of the Kerala State Film Award for Best Actress, debuted in Sibi Malayil’s Ishtam (2001) and has since delivered acclaimed performances across Malayalam, Tamil, and Kannada films.
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