Around the block were a couple of high-end night clubs. As we approached, we couldn’t but feel the difference in the clientele. A limousine drew in front of us and three young guys jumped out with bottles of liquor in their hands. They looked like teenagers, or perhaps in their very early 20′s. They discarded their bottles of liquor in the backyard of a house because there were some police cars ahead.

As I walked further, I saw four girls getting out of a taxi. They were drenched with makeup, wore shiny tight skirts and high heels. All of them were obviously drunk. Bunch of guys yelled cat calls at them from the window of another taxi. Some verbal exchanges ensued.

Then there were lots of police cars (which was what piqued our curiosity in the first place) at the corner. They had cordoned off the area and were expelling patrons from a nightclub. I felt really really old because everyone around me seemed to be barely legal teenagers or in their very early 20s. They were all obviously loaded and very fancily dressed. Why were they being expelled from the nightclub? Overcrowding? Alcohol poisoning? Drugs? Assault? No idea but anything could have happened in there.

The young bunch was drunk and wild. There was lot of kissing, groping, fondling, hands inside pants and what I would describe as “bedroom behaviour” going on. And for a reason, all the girls appeared drunk beyond control, and the guys appeared sober. Something was unbalanced.

I usually strive to deconstruct gender and dismiss notions of “a man’s job” v/s “a woman’s job.” Hence, incidents like this bother me. Why are girls expected to dress in minimal clothing, wear makeup, uncomfortable shoes, etc. while guys can dress conservatively? Clearly, stereotypical gender roles were at play here – a girl must act as a girl and a guy must act as a guy. Who defined that?

It left me with more questions than answers. What was so cool about this? Is it necessary to stoop so low to get sex? Does makeup really make you look pretty? Do you feel like a “guy” if you are leading a drunk girl to you car? But in a society that labels a girl a “slut” and a guy a “champ”, such things are inevitable, isn’t it? Sad.

Just before we left the scene, we saw a girl in a terrible state. She was barely able to walk in her point heel shoes and I bet she was cold too. She had a cellphone in her hand and was screaming “mom! mom!” while desperately holding on to something so she wouldn’t fall. We were about to help when someone came running to her.

Thankfully only a small portion of the population is involved in this gender-stereotyped nightclub culture. All this made me realise how immature and un-sustainable this “rite of passage” to adulthood was. Or maybe I am just getting old and I see reality differently.

Right from the time I exited the самолёт (समल्योत = aircraft) to the time I arrived home (90 minutes), I must have received 12 Thankyou’s and 5 Sorry’s, approximately. Quickly I panicked to restore my North American ‘polite’ avatar which I had, after intensely painful efforts, buried for over 3 months. This avatar had a nasty habit of sneaking up in unexpected places when I was in India or even Russia – leading to embarrassing situations – usually causing me to apologise for being ‘polite’ in the American way, which again was met with glares and a sympathetic ‘oh, the poor boy is Americanized’ look.

I was walking in the very crowded Moscow metro when the tip of my wrist brushed against the tip of a woman’s handbag who whizzed ahead of me. Like any normal person in Toronto would, I thought she was rude for not apologising to me but nevertheless I said by reflex, “I’m sorry, извиненте!” (इझविनीच)
The huge lady turned around, stopped and giving me a look said, “что?” (श्तो = what?)
I laughed inside my head, said “ничего” (निचीवो = nothing) to her and left.

I spent many hours explaining to both, Americans and Indians, what the American ‘polite’ manners mean. The Americans don’t understand why Indians never seem to thank or apologise (one survey even put Mumbai as least polite city in the world – imagine!) and the Indians don’t understand why critical words like Sorry and Thankyou are treated like commodity and used hundred times a day. Well, cultural differences are so beautiful and I discovered that in spite of living in India for first 25 years of my life, I could not, after just 2 years in Canada, switch to a different culture in an instant. Predictably, it will take me some time to get used to thanking and apologising hundred times a day here too.

Moscow from the sky

My Аэрофлот (ऐरोफ्लोट Aeroflot) flight flew from Mumbai to Moscow, change plane, Moscow to Toronto. Aeroflot served me BEEF in my Hindu meal (will make a post with pictures on my travel blog), they are known to flatly refuse to serve plain Water (which is what Indians drink), served a drink called “chai” which they think is tea (well it is Russian tea), their flight was 4 (FOUR) hours late and their seats are designed for discomfort. Yet, I flew them because I had to go to Moscow and the ticket cost was too good to be true. I discovered that the airhostess had a bias against, well, Russians and non-Russian-looking-but-Russian-speaking people like me on one side compared to other non-Russian-looking-and-no-Russian-speaking people on the other. boooo. Nevertheless I found this international discrimination less insulting than what happens in Mumbai between different ethnic groups ironically belonging to the same country…

As the flight landed, I was deeply touched to see the passengers clap as a ‘thank you’ to the pilot.
“Nyet nyet” my neighbor said wisely, “They clap to thank God that the plane has finally landed. It’s Aeroflot, Russian airline!”

View from my window

I was finally glad to be home. Toronto looks beautiful, wrapped in a blanket of snow and occasionally glittering with a scarlet glow from the rays of the sun. I tried to sleep, but I was still tuned to IST. Still I tried to get into my bed and catch some sleep something that was difficult to get without the familiar barking of street dogs…

The Don Valley Brickworks is a former quarry and industrial site located in the Don River valley in Toronto, Ontario. Currently the buildings sit mostly unused while the quarry has been converted into a city park which includes a series of naturalized ponds. The Don Valley Brick Works operated for nearly 100 years and provided bricks used to construct many well-known Toronto landmarks, such as Casa Loma, Osgoode Hall, Massey Hall, and the Ontario Legislature. The buildings are currently undergoing restoration, courtesy of Evergreen, a national charity dedicated to restoring nature in urban environments. (Wikipedia)

Someone made an artificial little pond and setup a canoe in it. Probably abandoned after the photo shoot.

Brick Works Factory is off-limits and there is a barrier around it. But people have creative ways to enter it and the guards don’t seem to care. Afterall what would a couple of guys with cameras do inside an abandoned structure?

Switchboard. Reminds me of my engineering days!

My photographer friend wanted to go here and I tagged along. He was surprised and I was disappointed to find half a dozen people in that place already. Some were busy in photo shoots with models.

Holes in broken walls offer pretty views.

I can’t read Graffiti. The words usually don’t make any sense. Feels like a whole different language

Art supplies. The whole place is covered in Graffiti.

There are several ‘secret’ passages that open to new rooms. Although its nice to explore and take pictures, 15 years ago I would have loved to play detective and investigate here!

Some more machines.

This place must have been pretty busy judging by the size of it and the sheer number of kilns it had. A non-profit called Evergreen has plans to develop the abandoned buildings into a cultural centre with a focus on the environment. I’m not a big fan of such fancy “cultural centers.”

The big warehouse, probably used for raw material storage.

I’m fascinated by Sun rays and dust that sparkles in the Sun. So simple but beautiful. My friend kicked up some dust so that this picture will make more sense.

Area outside the kilns and heavenly intervention.

Tip: If you click on the images, the bigger versions that open are clearer than the pictures posted above. I think I used the wrong algorithm to resize

Parade on Yonge Street (picture ftom CTV website)

“Pride Week is an event held in Toronto, Ontario during the last week of June each year. It is a celebration of the diversity of the LGBT community and is the one of the largest organized Gay Pride festivals in the world, featuring several stages with live performers and DJs, several licensed venues, a large Dyke March, and the Pride Parade. The epicentre of Pride Week is the city’s Church and Wellesley village…” (read more on Wikipedia)

Some pictures from the parade:

I was told that visitors from neighboring districts of Toronto arrive into the city with their families for this event. Indeed there were several kids perched on their dads’ shoulders and armed with water guns that were used on unsuspecting revelers. There were also plenty of foreign tourists (especially Chinese and Indians) who wore a completely baffled look on their faces. But still, they stayed till the end (almost 3 hours). Clearly, everyone was enjoying this carnival.

Church Street, the primary street in the gay village, and the arterial streets were closed for traffic for last three nights. Streets were full people partying and exhibiting their artistic skills and other ass-ets The initial part of the week was dominated by several music, dance, theatre and such cultural events.

I was overwhelmed by the sheer number of people out on the streets. I never saw so many people at the same time, it felt like a typical mela, with buskers, street food, chaos, people bumping into each other and an indescribably joyous environment.

People were happy. Simply happy. I have never seen so many happy people ever. It was insane.

Meanwhile, a Pride Parade was held in Delhi, Kolkata and Bangalore too. Although the turnout was a modest 600-800 and the event barely made a blip in the news, yet this was a symbolic step towards social equality and an end to discrimination based on sexual orientation for millions of Indians.

Happy Pride

There are many more (and better) pictures in the Pride Parade 2008 Photo gallery.

“Yay! the Geese are back!”

Canadian Geese swimming in water. On the top is a pair of ducks. Photo: April 28, 2007

It’s not that I love the Canada Goose a lot. They make the whole place crappy after a while and can be quite aggressive when in large groups, making it quite annoying (and sometimes risky) to walk on the grass.

But I was happy, because the arrival of the Geese signaled the arrival of…. wait for it… here it comes… Spring!

During winter, these birds migrate to warmer regions towards the south (i.e. USA). Only a couple of weeks back I was in New York and it looked like the Geese had taken over the city.

Canadian Geese in New York. Photo: March 24, 2008

There are still large chunks of steadily melting snow on the open areas. It’s about 0°C today and I hope it gets warmer soon. Nevertheless I suddenly feel that Toronto is alive again… Welcome Spring

If you are an extremist Hindu OR a self-declared-guardian-of-religion OR someone who imposes their ideas of right and wrong, then buzz off.

I woke up to loud noises today morning at 5. Out of curiosity, I went to the window of my bedroom to checkout what was happening. It was too foggy but I could see lot of dust in the air. Suddenly a mid size branch of a tree came zooming by and crashed on my window. Although I was safe indoors, by reflex action I ducked. FYI, my apartment is on the 17th floor, so I am sure someone cannoned the tree branch. In a microsecond, all my laziness vanished and I became more alert than I’d have been after 3 cups of coffee (partly due to the panic, partly due to the excitement).

Later, I was walking as fast as a snail (almost) to my bus stop this morning at 6, stomping my feet hard on the snow-covered damp grass. Walking on the walkway was out of question since it was covered with ice and I didn’t want to play घसरगुंडी / फिसलपट्टी / slide at this age. The wind was too powerful and confusing – it seemed to blow from all directions and was particular interested in me. Since it was cold and windy I was covered from head to toe with winter jacket, boots, hat, gloves and scarf, leaving just a little opening for my eyes (I looked like those Afgan women wearing an Abaya, except that I don’t cross-dress) yet, it was simply impossible to walk. I was almost getting blown away.

Ah, then I realized.
Pavan पवन aka Vayu dev वायु देव, the Hindu God of Wind decided to tease me today.

So, what happens when Pavan decides to be naughty with me?
(Puku is my nickname btw)

He blows strong wind (phooo….) and sweeps me away!

But hey, who’s complaining??

Now, since the City of Toronto isn’t getting any better (yeah yeah, I’ve started bitching about it like any Torontonian), Pavan dev took matters in his own hands winds.

But, ultimately the God is a guy, and boys will be boys. After all that work, he decides to cool off…

Thanks! Pavan dev

- – -

Today was a very windy day in Toronto. Wind speeds reached as high as 50 kmph with local gusts upto 65 kmph. The cold winds stretched the temperature to -19 deg C (feels like).

I enjoyed walking in this brutal weather during lunch time, there was almost nobody on the street!

This is what I edited. A light pole in the middle of the picture. I removed it because it was ugly, right in the front and appearing important:

The horizon was NOT edited, it looks like one, but thats just a coincidence

Thanks all for participating. Funny thing is that none of my real-world friends commented here, they preferred chatting

Update Note: The picture posted here is the original pic. Thanks Mandar for the hint

Highway 407, a 107 km long route, is one of the better-designed freeways in the province of Ontario because of its recent design. This road opened in 1997 and is one of the few freeways in Canada that are privately owned. Users have to pay toll to access it.

The 407 uses a system of cameras and transponders to toll vehicles automatically. There are no toll booths, hence the name “Express Toll Route” (ETR). Highway 407 is designed as a normal freeway but without the need for toll booth intermediaries which could otherwise take up significant land, raise operating cost and increase travel time. A radio antenna detects when a vehicle with a transponder has entered and exited the highway, calculating the toll rate. For vehicles without a transponder, an automatic number plate recognition system is used. Monthly statements are mailed to users. The 407 is the world’s first highway to feature this system throughout.
- (Wikipedia)

The reason this highway is special for me is because:
a. I see it thru my window, and
b. A frequently used bike route passes over this freeway.

:::::And now a simple question:::::

I have edited this picture, can you spot the edit?

After a quick puja at a friend’s place, we headed to a Vaishno Devi Temple in Oakville, near Toronto. The place was wayy overcrowded and since I was more excited about fireworks than anything else, I headed straight to the grounds. The smell of gunpowder was lingering all around and I think I got high

Diwali without fireworks? nahh…

Tourist cruise ship on the on-shore dock.

Regular [tag]ferry[/tag] services run from the mainland to the islands. For a mere $6 ticket, the visitor can spend whole day cris-crossing the islands on ferries. Many people carry their bikes, while others bring their barbecue sets and have a little party.

Toronto downtown as seen from the lake.

The giant and the dwarf. CN Tower against a tiny yacht.

On the ferry from mainland to the islands.

[tag]Ward’s island[/tag] is the eastern end of the central island and it is also connected to the southen island. There are a number of residential areas, restaurants, parks and a nice little beach. The calmness of this place felt almost unbelievable, especially because just 15 minutes back we were in the city.

Arriving on Ward’s island.

As seen in the picture above, many people own a yacht and spend their weekends idling in the lake.

More photos in subsequent post.