Mississauga-Kariya Park-July 2012..

The many colours of life

A walk in Kariya-Park, Mississauga, Greater Toronto Area, Ontario,

Canada-July 2012
Walking, exploring the nuances and colors of life, has been a family tradition
As I remember my father, I recall the many walks we had together

Remembering my father, I remember the many walks we went for together.In these he showed me the many colours of life, as I look back at the changing colours of the skies in the magic hour when night turns into day. The walks we used to have in the Western Ghats of India in Pune region of India are part of my first memories of my father.

Walks and colours as metaphors continued throughout the many journeys
we took together – as I entered medical school, I could see many layers of the professional in him, from being an army medical doctor, to being a practitioner, a specialist in anesthesiology, a teacher to students, a mentor.

After he passed away, I went for walks in same gardens of Delhi region which had been visited to by him and his father, some decades ago, and the cousins who were a bit older than me introduced me to many nuances of life as it shaped up for the family in the Shimla of 1940s, Delhi of 1950s/60s and our journeys together took a deeper meaning.

The writer-legendary Basketball coach John Wooden introduced me to an interesting concept about writing a letter to a dear one who has passed away. He would write a letter to his beloved wife, and file it away, every month. Over the years, this became an interesting repository of a joint spiritual journey.

I started following this habit, in addition to my habit of keeping a journal, and a dream diary.Writing a letter to a dear one who has passed away physically, made me realize the spiritual presence of the person even more.

So we continue our walks together, I write to him regularly, and these help shape and explore the nuances and colours of life.