The Great Canadian Circus (First edition)

Coming from an ancient culture like India, the dichotomy that is Canada does not take me by much of a surprise. The only thing that  I would say disturbs me is the ease and indifference of the locals or more specifically the common Vancouverite.

We in India are tuned to a diverse diaspora . Mansions of grandeur could be surrounded by slums of squalor . Yet , this does not irk the Indian psyche. The poverty stricken eek out a stark living but are restrained [spiritually] because somehow his psyche convinces him that his hellish existence is wholly ‘karmic’ in nature. Actually, he remains ensconced in this emotional cocoon .The downside being the inherent inertia such a thought process entails. As if to counteract just such a philosophy ,he has Krishna’s message from the Gita to ‘do your duty without expecting results .’ Now, this is such an inherently Indian thought that a person who is alien to our culture can neither assimilate nor reconcile with. Some learned western economists did not think twice before incriminating this very thought for the poor hindu growth rate of Indian economy.

Lured by all the talk about Vancouver being amongst the most livable cities of the world, I decided to make it my new home after 53 years of living in India. I had visited this paradise 3 years back for a week . The heavenly drive to Banff reinforced this belief.

This time around, I decided to settle down in English Bay until we found a more permanent place to call home. Man did I pat myself on my back when I got out of the cab. The calm,serene ocean and the setting sun at the bay reconnected my soul with the bounties of nature.

To be continued….

This is the first in a series by Dr Vinod Wadwha recounting his experiences in Canada.