For a great deal of South Asian citizens in Canada, this identity is derived from culture, religion and traditions. While this elevates us into a sphere of exoticism and purpose, it can also restrict us from a level of personal discovery. What I have always wondered though, is if this pursuit of identity is a one-track process that we pursue throughout life? Another possibility is that we rediscover this identity through each stage of life, from childhood to elderhood. Rather than identity becoming more solidified as we move forwards, it may just redefine itself during each stage. My interest is in discovering how this identity varies from the point we are in our life.

In North America, South Asian identity for a child will be rather different from that of an elder. A common belief is that once you reach the stage of elderhood, you will understand and accept what it means to be a South Asian in North America. However this may not be the case, and there may be new complexities that are added into the equation. Can we ever truly be comfortable in a transplanted culture?

Children have a wonderfully perceptive ability. Their young minds are not as littered with politics and other complications, and they are often known to speak of some uncomfortable truths. So what does a South Asian child in North America feel about his or her identity in relation to their peers?

This can vary based on a number of factors. For example, we may consider what area of Canada they live in, because surely someone growing up in Mississauga or Brampton will have a very different experience. For example, I grew up in a place called Port Elgin which had a population of 6000 people and a negative percentage of South Asian individuals.  My experience growing up was very focused on trying to integrate as much as possible, since I embodied the term “different.” As a kid, being different doesn’t seem to have much intrinsic value, nor does it provide us excitement for “going against the stream.” A child is simple, and wishes for their life to be as such. This simplicity is, truthfully, harder to find when you are trying to explain why your mom packed you a roti in your lunch and why you cannot go out because you have to pray instead.

For children who grow up in a populated South Asian region, their experience will reflect a child who is surrounded by similar environments from home to school. They don’t have to learn to adapt as much, and they may not even consciously think about the fact that they are “different.”

Who figures out their identity better in this scenario? It depends on your notion of identity. In some cases, South Asian kids residing in predominantly Caucasian communities may have a greater drive to discover who they are and how they fit into the world around them. South Asian children that live in areas more “brown oriented” may feel too comfortable in their environment, and never think to question or analyze their identity.  Similarly, however, these same kids may find the high population of South Asians as a motivation to push past their cultural label, and to discover something beyond it.

While Childhood as a stage does not offer the peak of self-discovery in one’s life, it does allow for a South Asian child to begin thinking more generally about how they fit into the world around them.

Author: Myuri S. Komaragiri

Street food varies from region to region. The scrumptious snacks, each prepared more temptingly than the other vary depending on the regions. Let’s have a look on what the regions of India have to offer you!

The typical North Indian food is chaat, a generic name for spicy, tangy and not very nutritious delicacies. Chaat literally means to lick yes and the fare is lip-smacking. It is sometimes crisp, tangy and brings out a variety of sensation, literally putting the tongue on fire. The chaat combines all the flavours – salt, sweet, hot, sour into a homogenous blend. Each flavour flows distinct yet it blends as one, giving it a unique taste which is best eaten and not described.

The Aaloo Tikki (potato cutlets) and Chole (spiced chickpeas) is also a famous North Indian Snack. This is my favorite street food. In north India you’ll find many street vendors selling Tikki Chole in the residential areas on a cycle or ‘thela’. In monsoon, you’ll find vendors outside schools and colleges, in markets, near bus stands and railway stations, in short everywhere packed with people waiting for their plate of Tikki chhole. The plate is topped with Dahi (curd), onion, tomato, sev, coriander, tamarind chutney, coriander chutney and some spices. My goodness I’m feeling so hungry while listing these ingredients. The taste is tangy and spicy and believe me you just can’t stop after having one plate of Tikki chhole, you’ll surely ask for another one.
No story on chaat can be complete without reference to the famous paani puri. In Delhi, they call it the gol gappa. In U.P., it is called the batasha, Mumbaiyas call it paani puri while in Kolkata it is popularly known as phhuchka. There is no Indian on this earth, who is not familiar with Panipuri. For those who are coming across this word first time, Panipuri is combination of Puri with potato stuffing, chutney and masala water. Very tasty and sort of addictive too. “I get Panipuri whenever I come back from India. I can never forget the taste of local Panipuri which I enjoyed back home,” says Mina Gupta, a student of York University.
Desi Chinese? ‘Desi Chinese’ is probably a term that you have never heard before. The word ‘desi’ is a direct reference to almost anything Indian (including person, place or thing). So essentially Desi Chinese is Chinese food in Indian style. It’s the best of both worlds and simply delicious. It’s a fusion of Indo-Chinese cuisine at its best. Traditional Chinese dishes are prepared with aromatic Indian flavors and spices. Veg/Gobi-Manchurian is a favourite among fans, it is easy to prepare and tasty. Served along with stir fried noodles with vegetables or fragrant jasmine rice, it makes for a delightful meal.
The southern states do not share the chaat experience at all. The street corners are dotted with food stalls doling out hot idlis, medu vadas, uthappams, or spreading a dosa on a hot griddle offered for one-fourth of what you may have to shell out at a restaurant.
Steaming idlis come and vanish in a flash, devoured by Venkatesh Prasad. “Ek aur lao bhai,” the waiter is instructed even before he turns back. In fact, the best way to start the day would be with the soft and fluffy idlis soaked in coconut chutney with filter coffee.  What about Dosa then? Call it a dosa, a pancake, a crepe… there’s no doubt it has caught on with the connoisseurs and commoners alike. The swish and the swirl of the batter on the tawa entices everyone to have it at any time of the day. The dosa may have metamorphosed many versions but it still remains close to everyone’s palate and heart. Along with the idli and vada, it continues to be part of the triumvirate of tiffin down south.
The South Indian thali! The thali arrives with stuff that is simply irresistible. “There is nothing like vegetarian food, especially the South Indian variety. It’s served on a plantain leaf,” says Deepti Agarwal, a student of University of Toronto. “Eating on banana leaf has always been my favourite. I have to agree that there’s something about it that makes it a meal that every once in a while I get such strong urges for that I think it must be laced with some kind of drug! Sometimes my tummy churns and grumbles in a way that only banana leaf can satisfy…and yet it’s such a simple meal served on a large banana leaf instead of a plate…  And the experience of eating with your hands is something that cannot be described in words. Maybe it’s the intermingling of all the different flavours and textures… maybe it’s the fact that you’re eating with your hands brings back that feeling of being a child picking up your food and just enjoying it without thinking of etiquette and grace…whatever it is…banana leaf is one of those meals I have to have at least once a month… ”
“My all time favourite snack is Mirchi Bajji! Everyone in our family just loves it. With little garnish it can be just heaven on earth eating the spicy yummy mirchi bajji,” says Shreya Gupta, student of York University. Mirchi Bajji is an Indian street food and is popular during the monsoon season served with coconut chutney. Be it any season or any celebration in India you see Mirchi Bajji is the common snack or appetizer to start with. It is the best snack for teatime.
Indians are culinary enthusiasts with a palette developed for hot and spicy food. The vibrancy of Indian culture is quite evident in its lip-smacking, hot and spicy cuisine. Irrespective of whether one is in the North, South, East or West, street food is available everywhere. Varied, delicious and economical, they are sure to satisfy taste buds and whet the appetite.
Drooling already?

Author: Ramya Maheshwary

Youth especially are constantly stuck between what their peers state about society and what their parents preach. Once a youth reaches their late teens, they are expected to define themselves in terms of these two, often opposing, ideals. The principles that create our general character find their pivotal foundation at this point. For South Asian youth, two major areas of focus are explored at this time: Education and Social Circles.

The pursuit of knowledge has always been a source of pride and an upheld tradition within the South Asian community. Providing your child with an elite education not only gives them stability in the future, but brings a positive name to one’s parenting abilities.

However, through my experiences in the education system, I have seen what this pressure can do to youth.  Those South Asian youth that are deemed as successful by the community, normally occupy a small range of occupations. We have not been able to produce a substantial population of athletes, artists, poets, and philosophers in North America.  It is certainly not for lack of talent, because anyone remotely versed in South Asian roots knows of its revolutionary contributions to these fields. It is the sad belief that these pursuits will not bring the required status into the future lives of these youth. I respect the nature of wishing for your offspring to pursue something that will bring them stability, however I simply long for the nature of education to be that which expands the mind and activates our spiritual capacities.

Social circles can have an immense impact on the life decisions of South Asian youth as well. Through observation, I have noticed that there are major populations of these youth that only associate with other South Asian youth.  What I have unfortunately found, however, is that this causes youth to compromise their background, and in a sense, substitute their parents’ ideas for that of their South Asian friends.

Although not to be excessively generalized, most youth adopt a commercialized idea of what South Asian culture really is. That which is portrayed in movies, TV shows and popular music, has a colossal impact on communities that are geographically disconnected from their native state. As such, South Asian culture becomes “Bollywoodified”.

In an effort to integrate into Canadian society, we have isolated ourselves from our own culture. As migrants, the expression of our culture was achieved by packaging together the simplified aspects of South Asian culture so as to not overwhelm anyone. While potentially logical in its initial stages, it has caused for a complete commercialization and demeaning of where South Asian culture has been derived from. This miniature rant is to express the idea that every first generation migrant youth should be provided an actual understanding of their native country’s history, traditions, and global contributions. So as these youth surround themselves with South Asian social circles in an effort to uphold their background, they are really suffocating themselves into a delusional representation of what their culture is.

These two examples show us what blindly following either our parents or peers will do. South Asian youth must recognize their pivotal role in educating themselves about their backgrounds. Whether it is history, religion, or even South Asian cuisine, the globalized nature of this world will depend on the educated foundation that we create.

We can no longer depend on our parents or social circles to tell us what to believe and how to act. The future of the South Asian youth in Canada must be derived from personal and individual initiative. To answer the question stated above, “Are South Asian youth suffering from a loss of identity, or experiencing an influx of cultural diversity,” I believe that our community is at a crossroads between the two. The loss of identity is expressed by what I termed a “Bollywoodified” version of our culture, yet as this generation becomes independently interested in where they came from, we will achieve cultural diversity.

Once we know where we came from, no matter where we are or who we interact with, our identity will not be compromised.

Author: Myuri Komaragiri

Never mind! If such an absurd wish couldn’t be granted… at least the words are mine and I can sew my mother’s memories into words and sentences and years later when my memory would begin to fade, she would speak to me through those lines.

I recall myself as quite an extravagant child. My mother used to buy me a pack of twelve China made lead pencils. I got sick of those dull patterns on the white background printed on the pencils. But buying new set of pencils wasn’t possible until those were used up so I came up with a rather sly idea of wasting the pencils by sharpening them incessantly. A few days later I told mother that I was done with the old pencils and needed more. She was startled and said, “How could you use up all in a week… they were a dozen pencils.” “They weren’t of a good quality I suppose.” I said promptly. She thought briefly, nodded and got me the new pencils. How easy it was to get a wish fulfilled by her because she was one of those people who didn’t know how to say no or to argue at length before accepting the demand.

I always did my best not to hurt my mother. She never had to yell at me or force me to open my books as I used to work hard for every test and exam. I wasn’t an outstanding student though… but at least I was honest with my commitment. When I was in the first standard in the second term exam (the one before final) I managed to get the second position. One of the drawbacks of being teacher’s daughter is that both the good and the bad news related to exams breaks to you beforehand. So she walked up to me. I was standing in the queue attending the assembly when she lovingly held my face in the cup of her hands, the happiness seemed to have engulfed her whole being, “You’ve got the second position,” she said. I kept looking at her towering on me… not knowing how to react. I smiled too seeing her evident happiness. That day I realized that was perhaps the only thing that could make her happy so throughout my academic career I kept trying hard to stand out. I never did. But I never stopped trying.

My mother is synonymous to a thick, cool shade that would protect me from every severity in life. I got used to her protectiveness. When in late 2005 one of the most devastating earthquakes struck leaving everyone in shock and awe, I turned to my mother to take refuge in her bosom because the continual aftershocks had scared me to death. Honestly speaking, I didn’t even know what aftershocks were before I experienced them. I was deprived of sleep and had started to develop dark circles. I shared my apprehensions with her. She smiled and said in her usual gentle tone, “There is nothing to worry about.” Her words alone were enough to lift my spirits but I requested her to move to my room. I would sleep as close to her as possible with my arm wrapped around her. I am glad the calamity had provided that opportunity to me for I had not imagined in my wildest dreams that exactly a year later I’ll lose her forever.

That’s true I miss her and when I do, I close my eyes and try to recall the good times; the times when depression was just a word and not a phase. The times when her very presence was enough to help me face the challenges bravely. Somewhere I yearn to be a young child again in her protective embrace and want her to lift my face in her hands and tell me that the hard times would be over soon. The dreams would be fulfilled and you’ll get what you’ve been striving for. I miss that reassurance.

On this mother’s day everyone would express their love for mothers while I’ll be content with a silent prayer for my mother. I remember once she was watching a mother’s day show on TV where Musharraf was paying tribute to his mother. I can’t forget the glow in my mother’s eyes. At that time I thought will I ever be able to pay tribute to her on a platform like that before the whole world? Three and half years elapsed. I am the same ordinary struggling person. And this is a tribute of an ordinary daughter to her extraordinary mother.

For all the mothers are truly extraordinary and the epitome of selfless love.

Author: Ayesha Umer

Beings  whose hearts have been opened by love, bring your minds to stop and salute  the presence of the  Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan, the immortal voice of a blessed  mortal. On August 16 1997, his life had only just begun.He is a lesson for all aspiring singers and listeners. You may not listen to any music or may not even have a taste for the kind of music he sings. But it is his methodology that makes him the ultimate revelation to all singers and listeners of the future. None can make it close to this man’s shadow but by blindly consuming his approach, one surely shall ascend to the epitome of love and devotion. Yes, love is blind. You see your blindness and there is no vision more eloquent than this.

Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan came from a family whose heart beat echoed the greatest form of Qawalli . Qawalli was, and still is, the water of his family tree and in 600 years they  finally saw the blooming of a son who was to symbolize his family’s works in the most fruitful of expression. Initially his father did not wish for his son to follow the family culture. Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan, though, had his fate in his faith. He is now the fragrance that gives the family its eternal breath.

Qawalli finds its soil in the land of Sufi thought. But Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan  became the catalyst of the modernisation of this music. I say, with great caution, that Khan gets modernity to rethink its thought. Qawalli utilizes the individual’s vocals as its main instrument : its best instrument is Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan. He sang in dedication to numerous personalities and concepts : his appreciation of all that he appreciated will continue to send listeners into a trance. Each of his works is a sermon. I am sure you have your personal prayers of preference. For me, then and now, Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan’s callings to the Qalandars will remain ripe in my heart : the beats of Dhamaal shall remain my beat of life. Jhoolay Lal.

Author: Ali Abbas

Holi is now a symbolic tribute to a legend from Hindu Mythology. The story is about an arrogant king who resents his son Prahlada worshipping Lord Vishnu. He attempts to kill his son but fails each time. Finally, the king’s sister Holika who is said to be immune to burning, sits with the boy in a huge fire. However, the prince Prahlada emerges unscathed, while his aunt burns to death. Holi commemorates this event from mythology, and huge bonfires are burnt on the eve of Holi as its symbolic representation.

This exuberant festival is also associated with the immortal love of Krishna-Radha, and hence, Holi is spread over sixteen days in Vrindavan and Mathura – the two cities with which Lord Krishna shared a deep affiliation. It is believed that when Lord Krishna was young, he often whined about his dark complexion and wondered why Radha was so fair. One day, his mother Yashoda playfully suggested that he can smear colour on Radha’s face and change her complexion to any colour he wanted. Fascinated by the idea, Krishna proceeded to do so and thus, introduced the festival of colours. Lord Krishna is believed to have popularized the festival by playing pranks on the gopis.

“It`s once again a time of the year, when you can holler, howl and scream, ‘Holi hai!’ with full social sanction. Holi demands big time planning. Buckets and barrels of strongly coloured water have to be concocted and water balloons filled to greet friends and neighbours. The gala time starts in the morning itself. People go around smearing each other with gulal (coloured powder) and coloured water. Children shoot jets of water from their pichkaris. A lot of people spend the day alternating between getting drenched and coloured, and consuming thandai (a marijuana-based drink) in large quantities as the day progresses. Singing and dancing to the beat of dholaks (drums) completes the picture,” says Sheela Sara, housewife. So get going, fill up your water guns to the brim and go on a wild shooting spree, this Holi.

“Adventures begin when one splashes coloured water, water balloons or simply turn the water pipes on!! My husband generally makes others squirm. So he uses pukka or fast colours mixed in water – or even paint. But it is a fact that this festival is enjoyed the most if there is a large gathering echoing with laughter, gentle pranks and jokes,” says Sheela.

You name the color and it is there. The more multi-coloured or horrible you are to look at, the better you feel. If only the eyes and teeth are visible, it is ideal. Then after we are done with playing colours at home we go house to house. The good thing about going from house to house and greeting neighbours and friends is that you get to eat special flour-based sweets like gujiya and malpua, and other savouries. It does not matter that you don’t really know the person in whose house you are wolfing down so many things.

And then comes Bhang! jai jai shiv shankar…. it’s that time of the year — when lusty voices of holi hai rent the air and bhang flows as high as cloud nine.  Culled from the leaves and buds of cannabis – the very intoxicating bhang helps to escalate the spirit of holi.

Thandai: “The name says it all! Thandai is part and parcel of Holi celebrations. This refreshing and healthy drink is to be served amid the play of colours. In fact, Bhang thandai sets the mood for the festival of colours. Drinking thandai in this season also goes with the weather, as it acts as a coolant for people in North India, where the temperature is usually high at this time,” says Atharva Khanna, a store owner at Gerrard street.

“There are no two ways about it — Bhang has become the official Holi drink. Lip-smacking bhang pakoras and bhang vadas are some popular snacks people look forward to on Holi,” adds Atharva. Sweets and kulfi made of ‘bhang’ known as ‘bhang ki barfi’ and ‘bhang ki kulfi’ are amongst these special preparations.

Colours of the cuisine:

Holi is also celebrated along with several interesting delicacies. Though the traditional recipes vary from family to family and place to place, one thing that remains the same is the zeal with which these delicacies are prepared for this occasion. Sweets are the vital element of Holi celebrations in any part of India. In fact, the festival of Holi is renowned for the umpteen varieties of sweets prepared on the occasion.

There are some universal sweets and dishes that are prepared throughout the length and the breadth in the country on this occasion. “One of the most popular desserts of Holi is ‘Gujhia’, which is a must for every Indian home during the season. Then, there are ‘papris’ and ‘dahi-bhalles’ that are prepared in majority of Indian homes on the occasion.

“The evenings are not as exciting. A good part of what’s left of the day is spent in that special room of the house – the bathroom. Scrubbing and scrubbing, and then scrubbing some more. It is an exercise that is repeated for days as it’s a normal sight to see people with patches of pink skin, green hair, purple hands and silver nails, for days and even weeks after Holi. Even the neighbourhood cows and buffaloes get their share of colourful patches, says Mrinalini, a resident of Brampton.

So let your hair down and do what you like, say what you like, meet, tease and play with colours with the people around you as Generation Next wishes you a colourful splashy Holi.

Author :Ramya Maheshwary

Haldi, Red sandlowood and Neem are used to make face packs in India. Traditionally, the dry colors used in Holi were prepared from Tesu or Palash flowers, which are first gathered from the trees, dried in the sun, and then ground up, and later mixed with water to produce orange-yellow coloured water. For wet colours, traditional flowers of Palash are boiled and soaked in water over night to produced yellow coloured water, which also had medicinal properties. Tesu colors help in improving the skin complexion, and makes the skin smooth. Legends say Lords Krishna use to play holi with Tesu flower colors.

There’s another interesting reason. By playing Holi one can increase his bodily capacity to withstand the scorching heat of the summer. Holi marks the end of winter. In winter the body experiences tardiness and people tend to get lazy. Holi is like a siren to get up from this laziness and brisk the movements for summer. Holi rejuvenates the human body. The dance performances and the music played during the festival rejuvenate the mind and soul.

Then there is Holika Dahan – which is another reason to play Holi. The mutation period of winter and spring, induces bacteria in the air and in the body too. So when Holika is burnt, temperature rises to about 145 degrees. And when people perform Parikrima – (making circles around the fire), the heat from the fire kills bacteria in the air as well as their bodies thus cleansing it.

During Holi, it is a custom for us to clean our house and remove clutter, thereby ensuring flow of positive energy. Therefore, it can be said that apart from rejuvenating the social ties, Holi provides a wonderful opportunity to let loose all the tension and de-stress the mind.

Author: Piyush Maheshwary

—————-

Dear stranger

I thought of you today

I was lonely

And I missed you

I wondered in a fleeting moment

Did u wonder about me

Did u remember

Our little encounter?

Did your heart race?

Or did it give u solace?

Did u crave another rendezvous?

Or was I just another experience

Meant to be cherished at the moment and then forgotten

Or are you at this very moment

Composing a letter

Starting with “dear stranger”?

Stolen

——–

It was gone

In a heart beat

Before I knew what it was

I lost it

It scared me

Bewildered me

Too late

Tried to compose myself

Tried to be less flustered

But I was embarrassed

How could I be so careless?

Was I not wise enough to keep it safe this time?

I chided myself

But the deed had been done

It was gone…lost.

I was in love.

Once upon a time…romance was.

—————————————-

Romance is dead;

a thing of the past..

“The concept is timeless,”

my mother says.

I disagree.

It was glorified in the medieval times;

Knights dueling to impress the fair maiden,

a stolen look from the balcony,

shy smiles exchanged,

reeking slightly of ‘Romeo and Juliet’.

I know my parents had their fair share of romance.

And still do.

Which, by the way, I envy.

But now in this world of cynics,

it has been slaughtered and perhaps reinvented.

Romance is a compromise, a give and take.

Romance is spending too much money in a bid to make up for time not spent.

Romance is …romance is…

What I really mean is…romance was.

Author: Sanchari Sur

#1. Order a personalized novel starring
both of you as main characters

I decided I wanted to send my husband something that told our story, and that we could look back on. But I wasn’t in the mood to handcraft anything or hassle with shipping and posting. So I went looking online for custom, personalized gifts. Keychains and glass engravings aside, I finally found the perfect thing at www.bookbyyou.com! We were both into the older periods of history, so I chose the one titled, Medieval Passion, though there are many other titles. The re are many different genres one can choose from on the website, whether you want the story to be realistic to your current life or the farthest from it. The idea was great, and every so often, we will pull it from our bookshelf and read a few pages and mostly remember the good o l‘days. However, since I‘m more of the avid reader, I end up having to read it aloud. This gift is great for anyon e who loves to read, or if you love seeing your name in print and don’t mind reading aloud every night until you finish the novel.

#2. Act out a Fantasy

In the same way, my husband found that sending things is often way more exciting for the receiver. He knew that I often wished a letter in a bottle would magically come floating at the exact moment I was standing at the shore of a beach, and so spent hours finding the perfect poem online. Then he customized it by adding in things about me, my name, my favorite scent, whatever the poetry required. And then he found a website that allowed people to customize a message on parchment paper and the company would take care of rolling it up and fitting it into the bottle and shipping it. My box arrived with a note in a bottle, and a wooden case for the bottle that was designed with a world map. It’s very cool looking actually, any how, I was so excited to see what he had written to me that I did not have the patience to figure out the tools to get the cork open w ith (I don’t drink, therefore I had never invested in acork screw opener ). I took the bottle and smashed it against the pavement outside and grabbed the folded yellow note within . Although I regret breaking the bottle, I love how that lovely love letter lingers above my desk in my office where I can continually see it and remember.

#3. Gift an Experience

For his 29th birthday, I presented my gift to my husband through a slideshow. At the very last slide, I put a picture of a plane and then some text explaining that I had bought him a2-hour flying lesson gift certificate to be redeemed at a nearby flying school whenerer he wished. It was a very cold November and though he was ecstatic about being gifted an experience, he thought it best to save it until Springtime.This put the idea into his head that experiences were really an amazing gift idea and he bought me a spa package at an organic spa in downtown Toronto, two birthdays ago. I’ll never forget that oxygen facial. Or how I looked afterwards. 

#4. Encourage his/her hobby

My husband loves cooking. If he weren’t in the automotive industry, he would be a desi Bobby Flay. Actually, he loves cooking meat and seafood and by cooking, I mean, grilling or bbq-ing. Even though we don’t have a bbq, he sets his butcher-cut rib eye steaks in a bowl of smoky marinade, then strategically place it on the grill in the oven and makes his own dinner. Or he’ll grill the perfectly done salmon, not too pink and not so flaky and overcooked that it’s falling to pies. of course, I make the lemon butter sauce; he doesnt have the patience for sauces. Anyway, in order to hype up the anticipation for spring and summe, I ordered a personalized apron for him. It says, “Ameer, Master of the Grill” with a cute picture of a bbq in red and black. Then I folded it up and put it into a basket along with a basting brush, chicken wing recipe cookbook, a Bobby Flay gourmet bbq cookbook and 2 chicken wings seasoning mixes, and arranged all the items in an aesthetic manner. The boy thought all he was getting was another dress shirt and tie to match, but he was so relieved and surprised to find something he could actually use! He is still waiting on his super-macho new bbq to arrive before using the rest of the stuff, but the basket has definitely inspired him to pursue his hobby more passionately.

#5. Make a Public Display of Affection

For our wedding anniversary, both of us were not in the mood to spend any money on things we didn’t have room for (we still have a lot of boxes waiting to be unpacked) and were hoping to travel to Spain and celebrate our 3 years. Since traveling will al most never be asurprise for my husband (I have to make sure he can take time off from his 24/7 job), I thought I would give him my greetings a different way this year. There were no Hall mark cards that perfectly summed up what I wanted to say anyway. I went through our wedding photos and picked out one that I loved best. Then I went to CP242 breakfast television website and noted the email address to which I could send milestone announcements. I uploaded our photo along with a sweet message and pressed send. They need 2 weeks notice in order to make any announcement, so I lied and said our anniversary was on July 21st. On the day of our anniversary, July7, I wished my husband and told him he would get his gift two weeks from that morning. A fter that, I kept my lips sealed. On the night of July 20th, It old him. I had to, other wise he would n’t set his alarm to wake up at 8am to WATCH the announcement. I was so nervous that they had found out I lied or that we didn’t make the cut to go on TV, that I went online to see what exact minute they usually did milestones, worried that we had some how missed it. At that same instant, I heard Melissa saying, “Happy Anniversary Iqra and Ameer…” and though the announcement only lasted a minute or less, it was SO worth it. I will always recall how Melissa said that she thought it was SO sweet, my message. Ameer went to work and told his co- workers who were very interested in doing something similar. For those of you who live in Toronto, I highly recommend this. You can do this for your significant other, for a family member or even your kids. Don’t worry about recording it, a ll milestone clips are posted online on CP24‘s website, and I believeare available for downloading. For those of you who live in different cities, check your local News station’s website for information on whether they have a similar opportunity.

Author: Iqra Azhar

Ms.Kala Pillarisetty, Co-chair of Panorama India, welcomed the guests and said events such as these serve not only as occasions of celebration to the Indo-Canadian communities, but offer an opprtunity to pass on the traditions and heritage to the younger generation.

India and Canda enjoy close friendly ties. As two vibrant democracies, India and Canada share several commonalities of pluralism, tolerance and diversity. In a special message to Panorama India, read out by his special envoy MP Bob Dechert, Prime Minister Stephen Harper said that “Canada stands besides India as a steadfast and faithful friend”. Advocating even stronger economic relations between Canada and India , the Canadian Prime Minister stated that Canada and India must forge stronger trade, investment and educational ties to build a more productive friendship. Outlining the many historical, cultural, social and economic ties between the two countries, Harper said, “These bonds are a solid foundation upon which we can build an even stronger, more productive friendship” and sought greater participation from the Indo-Canadian community in the economic development.

More than 10,000 people participated in the Panorama India`s Indian Mela and the 61st Republic Day celebrations. Crowds began to throng into the hall well before the scheduled time 11 a.m. to get the best seats in the house. Over 300 minutes of non-stop programming witnessed unprecedented participation, mainly from the second generation Indo-Canadians , which kept the audience enthralled and entertained.

Several political dignitaries attended the event including the Ontario Minister for Government Services, Mr. Harinder Takhar, Mississauga Mayor Mrs. Hazel McCallion, former Deputy Premier of Ontario Mr George Smithermann, Members of Parliament Gurbaksh Malhi, Dr Ruby Dhalla, Kristy Duncan, Bonnie Crombie and MPPs Mr.Bob Delaney, Mr.Vic Dhillon & Ms. Amrit Mangat . They were joined by the newly appointed and the first Indo-Canadian Senator Vim Kochhar, Dr. Alok Mukherjee , Chair of the Toronto Police Board and Consul General Mrs. Preeti Saran. Messages from Leader of the opposition Mr. Michael Ignatief and Ontario Premier Mr. Dalton McGuinty were also read to the audience.

The highlight of the day was the selection of the first Panorama India Indian Idol. After more than a month of planning and after 3 elimination rounds, the judges and the audience crowned Ferzana Bohra as the First Idol. And Anusha Shivalingam, was the runner-up. The audience were on their feet during the grand finale, performed by Melange Entertainment Group accompanied by the top 10 Idol finalists.

In his vote of thanks, Panorama India’s Co-chair Ajit Khanna, said “‘Panorama India, which organised the event, strives to showcase Indian culture and strengthen ties between the various cultural organisations of India in Canada as well as strengthens ties between the two countries. Today’s event, a record breaker for Panorama India, helped generate a tremendous amount of pride for both the participants and the 10,000 strong audience. “