The sharing of these gallery spaces added richness to our association with the multicultural aspects of Ontario. We remembered museum walks, our family legacy of science institutions visits when we used stay in Ovation, Mississauga.
The AGO has a special exhibition by Sarinder Dhaliwal with many touching exhibits. The way Radcliffe is made to speak through different birds in different contexts was one of the most touching exhibits
Dinosaurs of Antarctica was the fitting finale of the many galleries and spaces we walked through this week, remembering art walks and science museums.
Remembering Yester Years- 2014-15 walks
When Sagar and Sahil were studying in High school, we used to go to OSC. Here we discovered the sounds and smells of the forests, and a thesis of 1971, whose trees have been exhibited at OSC.
Roots of a Pine: A thesis of 1971: Walks in OSC-2015
Sounds of Forest 2015
Settling in Ontario required us to go into holistic healing practices and the science and application of these were learned in colleges near the OSC.
2023-OSC- Exibits
Hair Appointment-AGO-Walks- Dec 2023
AGO -African photography- the hair appointments.
Do you remember sharing a space which expanded your horizons?
With his Guitar, walking along the Humber, Old Mills, 2023-October
Walks in and around Fall-2023
We met again in front of Old Mills and as a prelude, I usually try to spend some time reflecting on some aspect of life which brought us together in a particular place.
Remembering Adeline Whiteoak
The Jalna series by Mazo de La Roche, published in 1927 follows the Whiteoak family through generations. Adeline Whiteoak, a strongwilled and determined woman was dedicated to preserve the family traditions and estate. Her eldest son Philip is a kind and sensitive individual, his brother Renny is more assertive and passionate while the daughter Meg adds a feminine touch to the family estate.
Links with Benares house and the Harris family
The fictional Whiteoak family is said to be inspired by the Harris family, who stayed in Benares house of Clarkson, Mississauga. The Benares House dates from the late 1850s, taking its name from the holy city of Benares in India where James Harris served in the 1830s.
Earlier Perspectives
Discussions with Bill Manson-Local Historian of Hamilton region
At the same time, we have retreated from public spaces of our old neighbourhoods into the private spaces of our automobiles, the anonymity of our high-rises, the security of our gated-communities, and the isolation of our urban homes
See blog: Every Object has a Story: Bradley Museum Missisauga
As we walked in the early morning hour beside the Humber, my friend talked about the Czech origins of his mother, but how their family shifted to Warsaw due the troubled times in Europe in the time of the rise of Nazism in 1920s/1930s. Then she shifted to Ontario Canada, where she met a person of Czech origin
Following a family life
One of the tools of reflection on society has been to talk to families of different continents. Relating them to characters in literature and seeing how those voices speak through generations has been an interesting exercise which Tom and I have refined over the years.
Last month, he attended the wedding of the son of a couple he has known since 1980s. They named him Yukon as he was born there. This month he sang a song he had written in honour of the football team for which Yukon played.
20 years ago left India
On Sep 15-2003- I first went to Tripoli from Delhi. Over the decades, conversation with diaspora and relating them to discussions with mentors in India has been a growth experience.
For earlier perspectives -See 2017-September walks
Leaving family to go on a trip has a different feel than boarding the flight oneself.
Royal Botanical Gardens, Burlington, Ontario-2023-August : One of our thinking places. Over the years we have meditated in these areas and deepened our understanding of Canadian Immigrant life
As I bade farewell to family at Pearson, Mississauga, Canada again, it was a time to remember and reflect on the many journeys our family has made from here and other ports.
2012-2016: First trip and Initial years: The Ovation days
We first came here in July 2012, to start a new life in North America. We had stayed in Malta for two years prior to that, and I worked in Tripoli, Libya. In the initial years I would board the flight to Tripoli many times a year, working there and supporting my family. We used to stay in Ovation Mississauga in those years. Knowing well the many barriers which the Canadian system has for foreign trained professionals, I decided to support the family through my work in Tripoli, Libya.
2003 Damascus halts: Notes from my diaries
On my first trip to Tripoli in 2003, I had a break in Damascus.A veteran of Libya helped calm my nerves. He told of his work in the carpet factories in Bani Walid, his origins from Uttar Pradesh and how this work in Libya has helped give his family a different level.
Over the decades, I had many conversations with fellow immigrants and travelers from India and other countries. They introduced me to the nuances of the Arab world. Damascus is one of the oldest inhabited cities in the world, and has a rich and storied history. Founded in the third millennium BCE, along the Barada river, it was captured by Islamic Rashidun Caliphate under the leadership of Caliph Umar in the 7th century and played an important role in early expansion of Islam. Being part of the Ottoman empire since the 16 th century there are many common links between Damascus, Istanbul and Tripoli.
2003-Initial Hesitations to staying on for thirteen years
A mentor (Dr.SK) helped me overcome my initial hesitations of relocating to Tripoli. If your father had been alive, he would have encouraged you to try it out for a year, he had suggested. I stayed on for thirteen years, witnessed and participated first hand in the Arab spring-2011 and saw the aftermath of the civil war, NATO bombings and the instability which followed.
Mirroring Kurtz and Marlow- The Horror-The Horror
Just as the carpet weaver from Uttar Pradesh who worked in Bani Walid Libya taught me about expatriate life in Libya, the teachers of the University helped me read, discuss and understand works of literature in a new way. We formed the Tripoli Reading Group which would meet every week to discuss works of literature.
One of the books my friends and mentors Dr. J and Dr. M helped me understand better was “Heart of Darkness”. Narrated by Charles Marlow, he tells about his journey to the African Congo, to find Kurtz, the mysterious ivory trader. Just as Marlow’s journey into the Congo exposes the brutal exploitation and dehumanization of the native African population by the colonizers, the enigmatic ivory trader Kurtz is a symbol of the corrupting influence of power and the darkness within the human soul.
Kurtz’s famous last words, “The horror! The horror!” encapsulate the moral abyss he has reached. Tripoli Reading group helped us see modern versions of Kurtz- and this horror in Libya in the aftermath of the NATO Bombings. The horror still continues 12 years on.
Earlier perspectives:
Airports
2014 Mitiga
“I was thinking of very old times, when the Romans first came here, nineteen hundred years ago, the other day…
The slow casual remark of Marlow in Heart of Darkness, written
“Aapke badi baat bahut yaad aayegi” (roughly translated: we will miss and remember your big deal phrases) my mother in law said as we bade farewell at Terminal 1 of Pearson. This was the second trip of the Senior Karias (my parents in law) to Canada. They first came here in 2018. This time we ventured to United States by road, visited their son and family (Bharat Bhai Karia) in New Jersey and their grandson Sagar Bhatt Karia in New York city (Elmhurst, Queens)
Being from the Northern India Hindi Belt I speak and relate to Hindi in a different way. My in-laws have their roots in Karachi British India where they were born and spent their early childhood and Mumbai area of Western India where they built their life. Phrases like “Mein aapke ek Badi Baat bataata hoon” are common in the Hindi belt of Northern India.
Airports have been thinking places for me over the decades. In the initial years of Canada, the family would stay in Ovation, Mississauga, and I would board the flight to go to Tripoli. The focus was to sustain and grow the Canadian journey and life from outside. This is the story of many hundreds of thousands of professional immigrants to Canada. Now, in a different phase, I look back at those uncertain years and have a different feel when helping to receive or bid farewell to friends and family from Pearson.
It is at such airports that I have also meditated and reflected on the currents and teachings which other fellow-travelers introduced me to- from understanding nuances of works of “Heart of Darkness” to feeling the layers of history which are woven in the words of a carpet weaver from Uttar Pradesh who worked in Bani Walid.
Have you ever wondered about the difference between boarding and bidding farewell?
Prashant Bhatt's notes 