A 25 route number GO Transit bus drops one right at Square One Mall in Mississauga. I had talked to Aunty the other day and kind of invited myself to their place. Sujit uncle picked me up from the front of Starbucks to take me to their home. They had been here for about 10 years and have become Canadians, well almost. They have 2 daughters -Sanjukta and Aditi. The family used to stay in Montreal for many years before shifting to their beautiful house here. All of them were well versed in French.
Sujit uncle started off with many scientific and technological discussions with me, and I was pleasantly surprised that he was up to date with most of the recent advances in modern physics. We had breakfast, and then set off for Niagara on the Lake. Aditi was busy with some exam preparations but even she decided to come along. After passing the wineries and reaching the Shaw Festival place, we stopped over from time to time to enjoy the beautiful scenes by the Niagara River. The other side of the river was USA. Houses on either sides of the river, had both the Canadian and US flag fluttering, as a mark of friendship. These areas are also historically famous for many of the American Independence Wars.
After we returned, we had a grand dinner at their place. The starting off with with marinated fresh sweet corn (I swear to God, that was the best corn I have ever tasted), followed by a variety of dishes that ranged from Aunty's 'lou chingri' to Aditi's 'barbequed chicken' in the main course and finally brownies formed a wonderful meal. I had a great time with the family.
I was 'back to Square One' at 8 pm (I was so itching to use that phrase) from where I boarded the GO bus back.
Sujit uncle started off with many scientific and technological discussions with me, and I was pleasantly surprised that he was up to date with most of the recent advances in modern physics. We had breakfast, and then set off for Niagara on the Lake. Aditi was busy with some exam preparations but even she decided to come along. After passing the wineries and reaching the Shaw Festival place, we stopped over from time to time to enjoy the beautiful scenes by the Niagara River. The other side of the river was USA. Houses on either sides of the river, had both the Canadian and US flag fluttering, as a mark of friendship. These areas are also historically famous for many of the American Independence Wars.
Mississauga (from Square One terminal)
Mississauga has a huge Indian population, and so does Toronto (70% are immigrants). And Uncle had a lot to advice on my future in terms of immigrants' life in Canada. The gist of what I got from the conversation is that Canada being a capitalist country, money more than personal relations matter most in here. So even though Canada has a liberal immigrant policy, after the immigrants reach their land of promise, they really have to dig in hard to start a living. Making it big often remains a distant dream. There are examples of people with MBBS degrees from their native country who end up as cab drivers, since their degrees aren't recognized and the require to go through the same courses and more in Canada (which is extremely expensive) and often the alternative is easier. Another aspect of the capitalist approach is that no one has a comfort zone even when they are past their middle age. If you are not performing as good as you are expected to be, the company will not entertain you for long. Uncle claimed that his comrades and contemporaries back in India have much easier lives. Also the country has limited manual labour just like in most of the Western world. It means that being a highway truck driver can be a very lucrative job indeed. It also means that you won't have the regular domestic helps or chauffeurs or human services of any kind unless you are Bill Gates.
After we returned, we had a grand dinner at their place. The starting off with with marinated fresh sweet corn (I swear to God, that was the best corn I have ever tasted), followed by a variety of dishes that ranged from Aunty's 'lou chingri' to Aditi's 'barbequed chicken' in the main course and finally brownies formed a wonderful meal. I had a great time with the family.
I was 'back to Square One' at 8 pm (I was so itching to use that phrase) from where I boarded the GO bus back.
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