After the journey and reunion in New Jersey, we drove to the Queens area. Grandparents saw the house of Sagar, their grandson for the first time. It was a moment to cherish as we looked back at the Malad days of Mumbai when Nana-ji used to take Sagar to Pinnacle School and Nani-ji would pack lunches for the children.
THINKING PLACES-697 Candlestick -Assembling, Garden as a thinking place, with many facets from swings to trees and memorabilia – the Pottery from Visual Arts Mississauga, 2019 to the Trees from Burlington, Ontario
Drive through New York State
` The journey was a bit longer than expected as I did not put on the “Allow Tolls” in the GPS. The GPS took us through non-toll routes of NY State which led to a few hours of detour and tension. We even thought of staying in a motel in one of the smaller towns, but could not find any manager to check us in, so we drove on to Syracuse. The Motel was manned by a fellow-Gujarati and gave us a much-needed rest.
Early start the next day, through Toll routes helped us reach New Jersey on time.
Last October (2022) we visited New Jersey. The cat -Chakoo has had surgery since then. The different artworks were inspiring and educative as ever. The garden has further blossomed in the summer.
Learning from Literature: Remembering Mark Twain’s Tom Sawyer
The drive through NY State reminded me of the works of Mark Twain, who wrote his classic books “Tom Sawyer” and “Huckleberry Finn” in Elmira New York. I first read these books when I was staying in Pune, (Golibar Maidan) during my secondary school years in St.Vincent’s High School. Sawyer is a coming-of-age story which deals with the joys, challenges and adventures of youth and explores themes of societal expectations and tension between the innocence of childhood and the responsibilities of adulthood.
The story tells about how Tom and Huckleberry Finn witness a murder in a graveyard committed by Injun Joe, a dangerous criminal, initially swear an oath of silence to what they have seen, but as the story progresses, help in the capture of Injun Joe.
My teachers in St.Vincent’s high school Pune first introduced me to this story and gave their own interpretations and commentaries on the passages. These further developed in me the love of the written word, which my parents had imbibed in me through the home libraries they created for us, even before we entered primary school.
Elmhurst again
The parking was found in front of the building very easily this time. We said joint prayers together in front of the family relics and photographs. Some of these like framed pictures of my parents (PNB-NB-on Marriage-Jan 30,1967) I gifted to my son Sagar when he left Mississauga last year to start a new phase of his life. A small pocketbook of The Power of Positive Thinking by Dr.Norman Vincent Peale is there on top of the refrigerator. Last year, 2022-July -we had gone to Marble Collegiate Church to pay respects to Dr.NVP and his message. I first started reading Dr.NVP when I was a medical student in Maulana Azad Medical College, New Delhi. We used to go to Connaught Place (CP) and get books. Another place was the Sunday bazaar at Darya Ganj.
THINKING PLACES- TORONTO AREA-
2023-June- Graydon Rock- Mississauga
After the prayers and meals, I went for a walk around Elmhurst, located in Queens New York City. This area was originally inhabited by the Mespactes Native American tribe and was settled by English and Dutch-origin settlers in the 17th century. In 1896, the area’s name was changed from Newtown to Elmhurst.
The journey of Sagar’s grandfathers: The generational lens
THINKING PLACES- PORT CREDIT Peace Stone-Mississuaga
Last year, when Sagar had left for NYC to join Google I had told him about the early 1960s when his grandfathers first left their homes to start a new life.
My father (PNB) joined the Indian army in the early 1960s after graduating in medicine from AIIMS, Delhi. He did one of his first tours of duty to the North East of India (Shillong, 1963). His connection through marriage (1967-Jan) to the Uniyal family gave him a different dimension of life, connected with BHU-Benares Hindu University’s campus life.
Earlier this year (Feb 2023) while travelling through the hills of Uttarakhand, on the way and back from Dhari Devi Mandir, Srinagar Garhwal, my uncle- Father’s younger brother (Rakesh Chacha ji) told me facets of Benares life and the way our family evolved which I had not known before.
Sagar’s Nana-ji (Shri JD Karia) started life in Nirlon, Mumbai in the early 1960s. As we sat in Elmhurst and Sahil went through machine learning exercises and we discussed how Artificial Intelligence (AI) has started changing horizons, Nanaji told of how he first began making diagrams of machines and projects when he joined Nirlon.
Learning from Literature: Remembering Jhumpa Lahiri’s – Shobha and Shukumar
As I walked around the neighbourhood, I recalled some of the stories from Jhumpa Lahiri’s collection- The Interpreter of Maladies. These stories highlight the challenges of assimilation and dissonance when persons with differences in upbringing, values and expectations try to connect.
One story of the “Interpreter of Maladies” was analyzed by the Art of Reading course we took when we stayed in Ovation, Mississauga (2012-2016).
Professor Tim Spurgin had told how the two master plots- Hero goes on a journey, Stranger comes to town are woven into this story – A Temporary Matter.
A young couple (Shobha and Shukumar) are drifting apart after a miscarriage and start connecting again by sharing secrets in the time when the light goes off every day in their apartment. But as they start sharing secrets they finally come to realize that they have drifted apart and now they wept for the things they now knew.
While I will not tell the mysteries which the Young Couple -Shobha and Shukumar shared, the last lines of the story may be inviting enough to go through the full story.
“Shukumar stood up and stacked his plate on top of hers. He carried the plates to the sink, but instead of running the tap, he looked out the window. Outside the evening was still warm, and the Brad fords were walking arm in arm. As he watched the couple the room went dark, and he spun around. Shoba had turned the lights off. She came back to the table and sat down, and after a moment Shukumar joined her. They wept together, for the things they now knew.”
THINKING PLACES-HAKKA CHILLI- MISSISSAUGA- Bharat Bhai Priti visit again first time after COVID19 lockdowns of 2020
July 2023
Perspectives from Elmhurst
As I look back at the walks in Elmhurst, with grandparents visiting Sagar house for first time, and some stories I remembered while driving to New York City.
We felt a sense of satisfaction at our family having achieved some important milestones.
The walk of grandparents in Elmhurst took many layers of effort and journeys.
EARLIER PERSPECTIVES
2022 -Rathburn Road walks
https://prashantbhatt.com/2022/08/31/rathburn-road-midnight-walk-beginnings-and-ends/
2010 -Walks in Malta
Prashant Bhatt's notes 