Posted on November 2, 2016 under Thursday Tidbits with 4 comments

Charminar in Hyderabad

Pandemonium.

Definition: An evening at the arches of Charminar on the last night of Diwali.

So, I had planned a quiet evening giving some English lessons to one of my colleagues, Nagendra. I was finishing up a major editing job ( a 56 page annual report for APMAS ) when I was introduced to this unassuming grad student Lubna from Gujarat. As part of her studies, she is going to a small village to do some research in the agriculture sector.

I had known her for a total of five minutes, when she blurted out, “ Do you want to come with me to Charminar?” This is a famous landmark in Hyderabad built in the late 1500’s. Before I had a chance to digest this offer, she had summoned a Uber cab and off we went. The drive through this city of 10 million would have been fascinating enough. I am quickly understanding that India is a series of contradictions.

Forty-five minutes later ( and a $2.20 cab ride – most things are ridiculously cheap by North American standards ) we arrived at the gates of chaos. Before reaching the arches, we travelled down a street congested with vehicles and humanity, that had about 100 jewelry stores side by side. Lubna told me that the Indian people love glittery stuff. I have purchased exactly one piece of jewelry for my wife. She has it on her finger. My second attempt was a dismal failure so I learned how to do the dishes which she appreciates more than sparkly things.

I was trying to find the right words to describe what I was witnessing. When I got back to my residence several hours later, I sent a message to my dear friend, Anuj Jain. Here’s how he summarized it: “ How do you capture that mix of noises? Women haggling, shopkeepers enticing, a loud rickshaw ( or a thousand …my words! ) zipping past your body and missing you by a hair’s breath; the smell of deep fried chili fritters, bangles of all possible colors , sparkling and changing shades, children running around…” What he failed to mention that half of the population of India was occupying a space the size of Main Street in Antigonish.

Did I mention that Lubna was a Muslim woman but one of a new breed who are stepping out , exerting some independence? She was not wearing a hijab ( although she covered her head with a scarf as we passed a nearby mosque). The crush of humanity was a bit intimidating. If I had lost contact with her, I’m not sure what I would have done. So, being the wimp that I am and emulating a daycare centre with children holding onto a rope, she allowed me to take her by the hand. She dragged me through the throngs amid the cacophony of beeping horns, yelling and general traffic noise.

We were quite hungry. In order to get to the restaurant that was a block away, it was safer and quicker to take a rickshaw! Being the gallant gentleman that I am ( ?), I picked up the tab. An amazing meal ( for 2 )  of chicken biryani came to a grand total of 400 rupees… $ 8.00 Canadian! And this was at a very respectable place. It was the hottest, spiciest food I have eaten in India so far. I am writing this the morning after and am VERY happy to report that the meal settled in my stomach without incident!!!

It was easily one of most amazing things that I have witnessed. At 65, one becomes quite blasé in that you think you’ve seen it all and done it all. Wrong. There are many, many untold treasures awaiting if you have the courage to step outside your comfort zone.

By the time you receive this, I will be travelling on one of India’s celebrated trains on a 14 hour ride to a village where I will commence with some of my field work. Please join me for the ride. I’m sure you’ll hear about it soon.

Have a great day.

 

 

 

 

 

Posted on December 10, 2015 under Thursday Tidbits with one comment

Two weeks until Christmas Eve

 

 

“Fast away the old year passes.” Deck The Halls

Stunningly , another year is just about in the books. As usual, it brought highs and lows for all of us. I know I sound like a broken record, but the older I get, it just seems like the days, months and years fly by with increasing speed. I thought that retirement would slow the pace. Fat chance! And more than ever, the adage that “change is constant” was never so true. It seems that nothing stays the same anymore and the slow pace of life has been altered forever and hyper ventilated with gadgetry and social media.

In line with the theme of change, it is time for Week45 to mix things up a bit. I have decided to take a hiatus from writing for newspapers. Of course, this will have zero effect on you, my loyal readers as you consume my product through the internet. So if granny starts to complain that she can’t find me in The Casket anymore ( I hope she never finds me in a casket! ), tell her to get with the program and sign up for Week45.

This will be my final Thursday Tidbits for the foreseeable future. In its place will be a new feature called “Faces in the Crowd.” Some of you are familiar with “Humans of New York.” There’s a similar version of this in Halifax. My plan is to wander the streets of Antigonish and beyond and engage with people I don’t know. Everyone has an unique story and I hope to be able to give you a short vignette ( approx.. 50 words ) of what makes them special along with a picture of the subject.  I hope that you enjoy something fresh and different.

“He ain’t heavy, he’s my brother. “ I was tempted to use this line as the title for the story about my brother Tom and his wife, Catherine. A lot of you read the story “ A Case of Incurable Optimism” and you liked it. Many of you said it was my best ever. It was an easy story to write. Tom and Catherine both commented but I assured them that their dog, Oslo was the real star! I will continue to do these human interest stories as they always get a big response.

Coming up this weekend, I plan to publish the story called “The Office Christmas Party.” I put on calories just thinking about it.

My new book. There’s still time to get a copy ( several?! ) of my book before Christmas. Just so you know, you can get them from me, you can buy them on line and they are also available at these fine establishments: the Antigonish 5 to $1.00, Brosha’s Short Stoppe and , in Port Hawkesbury, at the Fleur de Lis Restaurant ( they have the best maple walnut salad in the universe, btw! ).

Have a great weekend.

P.S. Hung out with two very talented guys the other day: my nephew, Dave Brosha… photographer extraordinaire and singer/songwriter, Lennie Gallant.  We shared some stories and a few laughs at the Gahan restaurant in Charlottetown.

 

Posted on December 3, 2015 under Thursday Tidbits with no comments yet

And justice for all

 

 

I walk by the old Court House several times every day. I’ve only been inside a handful of times. I was being screened for jury duty on one occasion and another time, I sat through a trial for a part of one day. You locals can correct me but I have a vague recollection of casting a ballot there once. Is that possible? Can a court house be used as a polling station? The Court House is a place where justice is administered.

I have been thinking a lot about justice these days, particularly as it pertains to the Syrian refugee crisis. Regular readers know that I generally shy away from anything political or controversial on my website. There’s enough of that in the regular news stream. But it is hard not to be touched in some way with the plight of millions of people who, through no fault of their own, have been displaced. We are so blasé about our freedom and our rights.

As many of you know, there are a handful of local groups working very hard to bring Syrian families to Antigonish. I remember very well this summer the SAFE group perched on the sidewalk outside of Town Hall during Highland Games week trying to make the public aware of what was happening half a world away.

While I was away on my recent road trip with Peter, I was conscripted by St. Ninian’ Parish (!) to head up their efforts to bring another Syrian family to our community. I realize that not everyone is on board when it comes to bringing refugees to our province and our town. The most common refrain is that we have lots of problems and issues in our own community that require our attention. Why aren’t we using our resources and energy locally, the naysayers will point out.  I believe that we all need to take a step back and realize that, other than our First Nations people, most of our ancestors came here as immigrants.

I promise that I won’t bombard you with information on our progress on this site. But I will give periodic updates.

I attended an office Christmas party last weekend.  Let those words sink in for a moment. How many office parties have you attended over the years? There don’t seem to be as many these days and more often than not, these gatherings take place at someone’s home. It was a pretty civilized affair and brought to mind some of the ones that were a tad less civilized many years ago. I reckoned that this topic deserved my undivided attention so coming soon is a story called “ The Office Christmas Party.” Pretty dull title, wouldn’t you say?

Coming up this Saturday, December 5^th. I will be hosting the official launch of book #3 at People’s Place library at 2:00 p.m. Why don’t you stop by and have some apple cider and a sweet or two.

And on Saturday, December 12^th. from 10:00  – 12:00, I will be at the 5 to $ 1.00 for a book signing.

Have a great day.

P.S. My new book is now for sale on line. If you’re from out of the area or who have friends far away, let them know that they can purchase all three books… and my “exclusive” Week45 hats on line.