The many manifestations and significance of having a Community museum were spoken about. Later, over the strawberry cake and lemonade , we went through some personal memories associated with this Museum.
Then we walked through the Anchorage-the house of Captain Skynner(1762-1846), where there is a Cup, given to him for his participation in the Napoleonic war in Malta. This brought back personal memories of our own association of staying two years in Malta, and the many walks we had in Valletta, Sliema, Gozo came alive.
John Skynner (1762-1846) was born in England in 1762 to a family steeped in the traditions of the Royal Navy as both his father and grandfather had been high ranking officers. Skynner immigrated to Upper Canada in 1839 and made his home in The Anchorage, a comfortable and stylish cottage on the shores of Lake Ontario. The property itself had belonged to the Jarvis family who had used the protected waters as a shipping point for goods to and from York (Toronto) and Niagara. John Skynner and his family moved into The Anchorage after his retirement from the Royal Navy. Skynner fought at the Battle of the Nile and later served in all of Admiral Nelson’s campaigns except for Nelson’s decisive victory over Napoleon, at Trafalgar. Captain Skynner was commanding his own ship, the Hirondelle, with the Mediterranean fleet at the time. Source www.mississauga.ca
Celebrating 50 years of Bradley Museum
On The Significance of the Community Museum- some interesting insights by Mayor Bonnie Crombie
Some personal memories of our family’s association with Malta
I purposely use the word have rather than had when talking with the kids about their dad. I want them to appreciate that even though Tom isn’t here with us physically, he is alive with God, and they still have a dad
McGuiness, Cheryl. Beauty Beyond the Ashes: Choosing Hope After Crisis (pp. 205-206).
Howard Books. Kindle Edition.
Around –Father’s Day-I read the above lines from Cheryl McGuiness’s book, which had been given as the example of growth through pain- in John Maxwell’s book-15 laws of Growth. Having a relationship with a loved one who has passed away, and using books as a framework to shape our thoughts, made me write a Father’s day message to my sister in India.
FATHER’S DAY
The memories of a scooter in which he would take us for rides when we were small, the Khirkee cantonment in the seventies and the prayer-outings to Parvati-temple of Pune. These memories of childhood, cement our ties , now that our parents are no longer physically with us.
BOOK DISCUSSION
My father introduced me to libraries, inculcated the love of the written word in me, and over the years, this has enriched life in many ways. Having a Reading-Book-Club is a way to further enhance the reading process, what a particular work informs-educates about the human condition.
2016-LEPTIS MAGNA-LIBYA…Going to open spaces and Reading, gives a different flavor to the Reading journal. Over the years, these Reading-Thinking places have added great richness to life.
Cherry McGuiness, wife of Tom McGuiness-the co-pilot on 9/11 tragedy, was invited by well meaning friends on Mother’s day, but the experience turned sour. So, as Father’s day came she planned a more private intimate setting, and after dinner-spent several hours going through the collection of Old family photographs.
She writes.
The disaster of Mother’s Day gave me the resolve I needed to take control of Father’s Day the next month. I reassumed family leadership and planned an event that would focus on Jennifer and Tommy and the great dad they have. (I purposely use the word have rather than had when talking with the kids about their dad. I want them to appreciate that even though Tom isn’t here with us physically, he is alive with God, and they still have a dad.) On Father’s Day 2003, the three of us came home after church and worked together to make a special meal. We had a great time in the kitchen, enjoying each other’s company as we cooked. After dinner we spent several hours going through our collection of old family photographs. I had purchased a number of new photo albums, and we spent the evening sorting and organizing our family pictures. In the process we remembered in a positive and joyful way the many wonderful years we had with Tom as a husband and dad.
McGuiness, Cheryl. Beauty Beyond the Ashes: Choosing Hope After Crisis (pp. 205-206). Howard Books. Kindle Edition.
CURRENT GENERATION
As we gathered our thoughts around Father’s day for the present generation, we went through some memories of yester years and walks which we have done through different places where we stayed. Due to our stay in different places, we have been associated with monuments-institutions in their vicinity.
2010-Dec-Walks together-Xlendi Gozo see Friends of Bouazizi – Year End diary-2011 Meeting –Tripoli Reading Group- 2011- http://wp.me/piL5Q-iP
2009-SABRATHA-LIBYA – DIARY BY THE SEA
READING-THINKING PLACES…Sabratha-Libya-2008…many lovely hours, spent Reading-Discussing -The Tripoli Reading Group
2010-XLENDI-GOZO-MALTA..Manna dey-songs, some of my father’s favorites, I later sang with my sons, walking by the Mediterranean
READING PLACES- RIVERWOOD:19.6.16: But the slave of Khalaf’s letter was not of the company of the consequential people like wazirs,sultans,the chroniclers,and the priests –the people who have the power to inscribe themselves physically upon time…in his instance it was a mere accident that those barely discernible traces that ordinary people leave upon the world happen to have been preserved. (From Amitav Ghosh’s –In an Antique Land) ..Readings in Riverwood-in the morning- on the bench in memory of Zachary Jelovsek,(1995-2014)..Taken much too soon.
MERCHANT OF VENICE Many lovely hours spent at Port Credit- Discussing Nuances of Literature How Shakespeare created characters such as Shylock and Falstaff, who outgrew the confines of their play, and talk to people through the centuries. …………revenge! I’ll treat you as badly as you Christians taught me to— and you’ll be lucky if I don’t outdo my teachers. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T_5adzpdkdw
MUSEUM JOURNALS-AND READING PLACES
The love of the written word, and going to Museums-shaping them as “Thinking Places” were two gifts my father gave me, which I tried to pass on to my sons
End Note: The words of Karl Khandalawala come to mind..many lovely hours spent walking these galleries of Prince of Wales-Chatrapathi Shivaji Museum-Mumbai
If my work enables even a few of my countrymen to realize the greatness of Indian painting and Art I will feel I have not labored in vain- Karl Khandalawala-Crusador for Indian art and culture
Through these Reading -Discussion Journals, logs of museums-Thinking places we have been to together, we maintain a living link between many generations of our family.
“India was the motherland of our race, and Sanskrit the mother of Europe’s languages: she was the mother of our philosophy; mother, through the Arabs, of much of our mathematics; mother, through the Buddha, of the ideals embodied in Christianity; mother, through the village community, of self-government and democracy. Mother India is in many ways the mother of us all”.
Will Durant-American Historian
I went for some walks to -Thinking Places-and reviewed some Mother Energies.
My father lost his mother when he was around five years old, and his elder cousin sisters- Padma Buaji and Saraswati Bua-ji being the most memorable amongst them, shaped his thinking and family life in many ways.
So, as I look back on these past months,when their grandsons got married, I reflected on the many Mother energies which went into shaping the family .
REMEMBERING I-611 AND B 1260..AND House number 4-Upper Kaithu
On 28.2.17 my nephew Rohit got married, on 18.4.17- my nephew Mudit got married and on these occasions I remembered some places associated with their grandmothers- Padma Dobhal and the Dobhal Family of 1-611 Sarojini Nagar and Saraswati Dabral- and the Dabral Family with their journeys through Moradabad, education, and B 1260 Palam Vihar.
They are my father’s sisters- and the mind’s eye went back to the time when the Bhatt family would stay in House number 4, Upper Kaithu Bazaar- Shimla and pray at Kali Bari and Jakhoo Temples of Shimla..
28-2-2017-Delhi-My elder brother Shri Yogendra Dobhal and Nirmal Bhabhi-ji blessing the newly married couple-Rohit Dobhal and Prabhjeet Kaur-Dobhal
–MY FATHER’S SISTERS..
MY FATHER’S SISTERS…….2015-At Taj Mahal-Saraswati and Laxmi Bua-ji, their links with Agra and Meerut and the many family discussions and teachings we all gained over many loving meals at B-Block 1260 Palam Vihar
MY FATHER’S SISTERS ……..2012- 4-UPPER KAITHU BAZAAR-Bhatt family memories-my father’s sisters-Savitri bua ji on a visit-pilgrimages to Upper Kaithu Bazaar with Surendra-mama ji and my sister Priti Dutta nee Thapliyal
MY FATHER’S SISTERS……1999…C 1804 PALAM VIHAR.. Padma Bua ji ,(Padma Dobhal) with my mother and Sanjoo Bhai’s son, and Bhabhiji and Mamta-Sagar
MY MOTHER’S SISTERS- C 1804 PALAM-1999-October
1999- MY MOTHER’S SISTERS- PALAM VIHAR with Abha and Meena mousi-jis and Smarika and Shounkie Nawani
PRAYERS-CEREMONIES-PALAM VIHAR- APRIL 2017
Family prayers-B Block 1260-Palam Vihar-18-4-17-marriage of Mudit and Nidhi, with Shashi Bhabhi-ji and Saraswati Buaji.
APRIL 2017 ..Prayers and family gatherings- Mudit and Nidhi Dabral wedding-18-4-17
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SOME LEGACY THOUGHTS-CONVERSATIONS
Places, persons, and family memories associated through generations came to mind- as I recollected the many mother energies which go into shaping the family legacy.
Delhi-1968- me on the lap of my Dada-ji-Bhawani Shankar Bhatt-with Jeevan Chacha-ji, my mother-Nirja Bhatt -nee Uniyal sitting beside him and my father Prem Narain Bhatt standing in background.
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Remembering some conversations with Guddu-Bhai- (Shri Yogendra Dobhal) in Lodhi Gardens -Delhi..we have met there over the years, whenever I return to India, we embrace each other with tears in our eyes, and he lightly scolds me- Return-what less do you have in India- in a way which only an elder brother can scold..mixing rebuke with great affection
Prashant Bhatt's notes 