When you want something,

All the universe conspires

In helping you to achieve it.

                        The Old man to the Boy

                        The Alchemist-Paul Coelho, Page 42

Sifting through the reading journals over the years, we went through the places of worship, museums, zoos, nature places we have been over the years.

This theme made me revisit the Confucian Park in Toronto zoo- where we have spent many lovely hours watching the zoo mobile go by, and discuss nuances of Identity- using framework of works of Amartya Sen-Identity and Violence.

WALKS IN ROUGE RIVER VALLEY AREA-TORONTO ZOO

In this Nobel accepting speech -Sen had remembered Kader Mia. This theme -and discussion of places of worship -meditation where our family has prayed, made me recall some of the temples with which our family is associated.

LOCAL HISTORIES- EXPLORING THE TRAIL OF -THE SKIN OF THE LION- 

DON RIVER AREA-TORONTO

We as a family shifted to the Toronto area – in July 2012-after two years in Malta. Over the years, we have spent many lovely hours walking the Don river area. Nature and its currents made us walk through Wilket Creek park and Edwards garden- which is also housing the Toronto Botanical gardens. From there we went through the different galleries and displays of the Ontario Science Centre.

In Michael Ondtaaje’s novel-The Skin of the Lion- talks about the people who were part of the making of Toronto in the 1930s

“ Through fragmented stories and evocative memories, In the Skin of a Lion recounts the story of its protagonist, Patrick Lewis, and his experiences as a member of the Canadian working class.

In the meantime, in Toronto, Commissioner Harris presides over the construction of the Bloor Street Viaduct.

There, workers take part in exhausting, dangerous work. One worker in particular, Macedonian immigrant Nicholas Temelcoff, distinguishes himself by his bravery and his talent.

One night, when a group of lost nuns walks on the bridge, one of them falls off and Nicholas saves her, though everyone believes that the nun has disappeared forever. While the nun, who keeps silent throughout this entire episode, tries to mend Nicholas’s shoulder, which he has dislodged when he caught her, the two of them walk to Nicholas’s friend Kosta’s restaurant. There, they share an intimate moment in the empty restaurant. The nun vanishes the next day, transforming her habit into a dress and entering ordinary civilian life” (1)

Video Diary- 2014-WALKS IN DON RIVER AREA

In the many walks, studies, talks in the Don river area of Toronto our family found many threads through which we built our life in GTA area. The study of the licensing exams, the many family discussions and connection with this region, which has been for around eight years.

The narratives of people who came from different lands and built parts of Toronto struck a deep chord. Looked back at some immigrants who came before us and then helped us in settling down here, through their teachings, examples and inspiration.

NOTES

1. https://www.litcharts.com/lit/in-the-skin-of-a-lion/summary

EARLIER PERSPECTIVES

2016-JULY-REMEMBERING KADER MIA

https://prashantbhatt.com/2016/07/31/remembering-kader-mia/