Walks- with Sahil

Posted on September 17, 2015 by prashant bhatt

On 18-September, Sahil will complete 15 years.

This year, Sahil became taller than me, at 14 years 6 months age.

On this occasion, I looked back on some walks together

The writer Peter Drucker said that the predominant need in our culture was for individuals to make their lives useful to themselves and others, and he believed that non-profit organizations were best suited to do that.

According to Peter, non profits organizations were most effective in establishing “the functioning community and functioning democracy of tomorrow”.

This year, through a deeper touch with some such voluntary organizations which impact culture, like Royal Ontario Museum, Toronto Zoo, Ontario Science centre, Peel Art Gallery and Museum Archives, YMCA, Art Gallery of Mississauga, Riverwood conservancy, we explored the themes of Functioning community.

We also looked back at some past years-walks through Libya, Malta, India and the different communities like BNHS-Bombay Natural history society, Museum of Fine Arts-Malta, The Sukh Sagar Indian Community centre-Malta and reflected on how such organizations shape our perspective.

Through readings- Like Chris Hadfield’s experience on Life , seeing movies like -Namesake based on Jhumpa Lahiri’s novel of the same name, we explored in depth, the Art of Reading themes told in the course by Tim Spurgin.

See blog

The Colonel Says

We discussed the many lessons from this book, after visits to the Ontario Science Centre

http://gracereadings.com/2015/07/29/the-colonel-says-lessons-from-chris-hadfield/

The Works of Jhumpa Lahiri- Lowland, Interpreter of Maladies, Namesake

We had some reading journal, group discussions on these works which tell many truths about the North American Indian Diaspora experiences

See Blog-

http://gracereadings.com/2015/04/23/women-writers-on-woman-characters-the-lowland/

    The Greatest journeys are those that bring you home

WALKS -RIVERWOOD

Remembering Catherine Parr Traill…She found beauty in weeds

On these trails- we rediscovered the writings and orientations of writers like Catherine Parr Traill ,(1802-1899)  who found her path to North America through Nature…She found beauty in weeds…

WALKS- TORONTO ZOO

REMEMBERING WALKS OF YESTERYEARS

AND SOME WALKS IN THE YEAR GONE BY

Through the many journeys, the young boy makes, one sees the unfolding of new realities. The writer-psychologist Phil McGraw tells that these are the small things which make up life and we should cherish each such moment. The differences of catching the different routes of MIWAY . Last year, he used to go by shared car pool.

This year, he wants to explore the society, through Miway.

” Yesterday I took 3 E and 5 S and took around an hour or a bit more to come to school, but today when I took 26 E and 5 S, I arrived in just 35 minutes (not counting the time it takes to go to the first bus stop in either time).”

As I look back on the photographs, notes, journals we have kept over the years I remember our many journeys together.

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Work Anniversary-LSMC

Posted on September 13, 2015 by prashant bhatt

On this work anniversary, I got together with some colleagues and remembered  times gone by.Here are some pictures which mark points in that journey.

Remembered friends  who helped shape my perspectives. Some food workshops, some memories of the expatriate community of Libya and some walks in the region.

Watching this collection on the work anniversary, I thought of the many facets of life which developed when I shifted from Delhi to Tripoli.

Some people have stayed with me, some moved along..

The words of the Sufi Mystic -Rumi, come to mind

Come , Come, whoever

you are,

Wanderer,

Worshipper, lover of leaving

It doesn’t matter

Ours is not a caravan of despair

Come, come even if you have

broken your vows a thousand times.

Come- come yet again, Come.

—

Through these many experiences, relations, built over the years

I realize the truth in the words of the writer -former Bishop of Scotland

Richard Holloway

” The toughest lesson life teaches is the difference between who you wanted

to be and who you actually are.”

..

Many rich lessons along the way.

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And their eyes were my eyes.

Posted on August 20, 2015 by prashant bhatt

I saw behind me those who had gone, and before me those who are to come.

I looked back and saw my father, and his father, and all our fathers, and

in front to see my son, and his son, and the sons upon sons beyond.

And their eyes were my eyes.

Richard Llewellyn

In my house in Palam Vihar, I have kept a special room for my diaries (have been a regular diarist since 1983). Over a period of time, photos, videos have added to the written word.

One Christmas card, which Carlos (A Nigerian friend) from Tripoli’s San Francisco Church (Dahra) still plays the greetings tune, many years after it was gifted.

Every man is a quotation from all his ancestors.

Ralph Waldo Emerson

I met my brother (Guddu bhai)  at Lodhi, early in the morning, before the work-day swallows life…Four generations of our family have walked in Lodhi gardens-Delhi

This is with Guddu bhai, over the years we have talked about our many journeys

together. Last year he told of his Shimla trip. This year he told of Andaman Nicobar

Many nuances of life came alive as we sat in Palam Vihar, seeing video diaries, photojournals and remembering the days gone by

Devraj bhai said – “Mummy kindled a love of literature in me.”

His father too used to write stories.

“He was a Botanist, but loved literature” Bua ji said, remembering old times.

And recalled some poems which he had learnt in childhood

This packrat has learned that what the next generation will value most is not what we owned, but the evidence of who we were and the tales of how we loved. In the end, it’s the family stories that are worth the storage.
-Ellen Goodman,
The Boston Globe

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