Pria Viswalingam
Presenter of A FORK IN ASIA, AFRICA, THE MED
Born in 1962 in Malaysia, Pria was educated in his homeland, as well as Britain and Singapore, before heading to Australia in 1978, where he completed his studies at tertiary level.
An active interest in drama and the theatre saw him attain an Associate Diploma in Performing Arts from the Western Australian Academy of Performing Arts in 1987. His broadcasting experience began in radio, where he has worked both as a newsreader and a reporter, specialising in politics and international affairs.
Pria is married, has young twins and lives in Sydney. Pria speaks Bahasa Malaysia, and a little bit of French. His interests include photography, cooking, and good food and wine.
In 1992 Pria embarked on a project that took him around the world, meeting people, and indulging in the peculiarities of various cultures. The result was his first series of A FORK IN THE ROAD which went to air in 1993 with six episodes covering Egypt, Italy, Scotland, Hong Kong, France and New York.
In 1994 Pria took on another vigorous travelling schedule to make A FORK IN THE ROAD Series II. This time he visited Greece, Buenos Aires, Zimbabwe, The Rhine Valley, Sumatra and San Francisco. In 1996, A FORK IN THE ROAD did it again - in Chicago, Paris, Sicily, Kerala (India), Malta and New Zealand. In 1997 Pria took us to New Orleans, Budapest (2 episodes), Brazil, Marseilles and the French countryside, and Malaysia. In 1998 the fifth series of A FORK IN THE ROAD visited Japan, Spain, Washington, Jamaica and Ireland (2 two episodes).
Pria explored his adopted home with the 1999 series of 'A FORK' entitled A FORK IN AUSTRALIA taking a fresh look at different aspects of Australian life. The eight episodes dealt with Colours, the Cultural Cringe, Food, Friends and Lovers, the Pilgrimage, the Clever Country, Wheat, and Tourism. Screening in June 1999, Pria says the series "...provided a sort of outsider's point of view with a little insider knowledge."
Pria was also one of three hosts for the new wine show WINE LOVERS' GUIDE TO AUSTRALIA that screened in mid 1999. This 13 part magazine style program took a behind the scenes look at the Australian wine industry, presenting stories about the origins of long standing and familiar labels, discussing issues facing the industry, and looking at its future.
In 2000 Pria produced the series, A FORK IN ASIA. Pria visited Japan, Delhi, Beijing, Nepal, Lebanon (yes, technically it is in Asia), Singapore, Guilin (China) and Thailand. With a busy schedule as usual, Pria filmed the second series of WINE LOVERS' GUIDE TO AUSTRALIA in July 2000, along with co-presenters, Grant Van Every and Maryann Egan. In June 2000 Pria also attended the Banff Television Festival where he was presented with the prestigious Global Outstanding Achievement Award.
In 2002 A FORK IN AFRICA saw Pria travelling through Ethiopia, Cape Town, Madagascar, Zanzibar, Tunisia, Kenya, and Mali and finally to the African community living in Paris.
In 2003 Pria took at look at Australia's corporate world in the series SHE'LL BE RIGHT BOSS. This series is possibly best described as a layman's look at "the big end of town" in Australia.
Currently he's in production on A FORK IN THE MEDITERRANEAN. Pria will be travelling to the countries that surround this most romantic of oceans to see what influence the Mediterranean brings to bear on them.