Mourning Dove
Mississauga Jubilee Garden Entrance
Fall 2018
[Photo By: KPA]
Matthew 6: 26
Behold the fowls of the air: for they sow not, neither do they reap, nor gather into barns;
yet your heavenly Father feedeth them. Are ye not much better than they?
I don't think we can "clear" our society of nefarious Jewish influences written about now in many non-conformist blogs. But with all things that start with a premise of negativity, the author of that negativity eventually has the danger of getting sucked into the negativity. Showing up "Bad Jews" doesn't necessarily advocate for "better people," but has the danger of staying stuck with the "bad."
Look at nice people who curse (f..., s...., etc., etc.). It is a surprise to see it coming from them but they (often through a job or other coerced socialization) end up using those words. Once or twice is enough to mar the "purity" of that person. I would say after the second time, since the first could have been a slip or a frank uncensored conversation between friends. It is kind of hard to resume normal innocent friendship after such an episode, since such a behavior was so unexpected.
So it is with anti-Judaism. Once it may be a simple outburst, and perhaps a rare but periodic outburst in times of deep tension can be allowed to occur.
But rather than create a narrative around negatives, why not work around positives?
Such as: "Well we have this tremendous banking problem in Wall Street, so why don't we make laws and regulations to protect those people, and especially the middle-lower classes, who work so hard to add to their savings, to do so more RESPONSIBLy."
Or better yet: "Why don't we apply our recently graduated youth, who are apparently jobless now, to use their brains, training and creativity to find different ways to handle money so that it doesn't disappear with a puff of smoke whenever China decides to inflate/deflate its currency, or some financial institution in New York manipulates interest rates."
God knows what is going on (no this isn't an exasperated exclamation but a statement of Biblical fact). We are God's warriors, NOT his correctors. We ASK and WAIT for guidance from Him, our ultimate Commander. How do we know what plans He has for the Jews, those Chosen People?
But we have a bigger enemy to fight: God's first betrayer. Lucifer. And he has found the crevices and leaks into our spiritual armor to find his way around our hearts and souls. We need to mend our shields and our connection to our God. Those are what will make us into warriors for Christ, and warriors of Christ.
[D]id an anti-Trump cabal inside the Department of Justice and the FBI conspire to block Trump's election, and having failed, plot to bring down his presidency in a "deep state" coup d'etat?
So, Andrea Constand didn't like the fact that Bill Cosby got her to fornicate with him, and she is furious.
You see she's a lesbian!!!!
So how do we actually know her state of inebriation as she went into the room of debauchery? She could have been drunk, as could have been Cosby.
Cosby denies and she accuses.
I believe Cosby. I would have left him to resume his destroyed life. And who knows what comebacks people make! Especially comedians.
So the "jury" went by the #MeToo epidemic that is sweeping through our epoch and ruled in favor of the butch woman. Where was her butchness then!!!!
Oh right, she was overwhelmed by the shortish, stoutish comedian who never played any kind of macho superhero role in his life. The most he did as a crime-scene investigator was as Scotty in Spy where he was more an undercover agent than a karate-chopping James Bond. And she couldn't even muster enough chops to send him out of that bedroom, and by the way, to which she went willingly. So much for butch pederastes!
I was nine years old. I called my poem “The Raggle Taggle Snake” and I am sure it was some kind of class assignment. But, mine was not only a poem, it was a visual piece as well. The poem curves and swerves as I describe my encounter with a snake, shaping its sinewy body with my words.
I am concerned with the snake’s aesthetics. It may be wiggly waggly, but it is also ugly. Surely snakes cannot be beautiful?
I end the poem with:
This is a snake I know from the Bible, which was in the Garden of Eden before Adam and Eve. I’m bowing my head mimicking what I’ve seen countless of times do those pious Christian Ethiopian women, who pray to God in great humility to deliver them from whatever evil is before them, with their kind heads bent in supplication.
My prayers, in that moment at least, were answered. The snake’s poison, which would have fallen over me, is replaced by the syrup of happiness. My bent head saved me from evil.
I was nine years old. I called my poem “The Raggle Taggle Snake” and I am sure it was some kind of class assignment. But, mine was not only a poem, it was a visual piece as well. The poem curves and swerves as I describe my encounter with a snake, shaping its sinewy body with my words.
I am concerned with the snake’s aesthetics. It may be wiggly waggly, but it is also ugly. Surely snakes cannot be beautiful?
I end the poem with:
This is a snake I know from the Bible, which was in the Garden of Eden before Adam and Eve. I’m bowing my head mimicking what I’ve seen countless of times do those pious Christian Ethiopian women, who pray to God in great humility to deliver them from whatever evil is before them, with their kind heads bent in supplication.
My prayers, in that moment at least, were answered. The snake’s poison, which would have fallen over me, is replaced by the syrup of happiness. My bent head saved me from evil.
[Note: Partly because of the length of this article and partly that I have other notes to make regarding the topic (ethnic art) for another post, I missed out on some small - mostly typo - errors in the last update. This should be it! Although you will not have missed the point, and message, of the article.]
Meena Chopra, a poet and artist, officially launched her book of poetry and art SHE! The Restless Streak on August 26 at the Mississauga Central Library with Mayor Bonnie Crombie making the introductory presentation.
Above is a view drawings by artist Meena Chopra's She! The Relentless Streak art exhibit on now at the Mississauga Central Library
Below is Meena Chopra with Mississauga Mayor Bonnie Crombie at the book launch for She! The Relentless Streak, a collection of poems and drawings, on Saturday, September 22, 2018
"My art is my search for the moments beyond the ones of self knowledge. It is the rhythmic fantasy; a restless streak which looks for its own fulfillment! A stillness that moves within! An intense search for my origin and ultimate identity". Source: Meena Chopra's Art World
Below is the completed article from my May 25, 2015 draft Meena Chopra's Ephemera: Art in the Multicultural Era
Meena Chopra is the Indian, Third World Goddess that has evoked Mississauga's awe and wonder.
Chopra knows this.
And she and her world are systematically undermining and curtailing the white West's civilization. She says so, clearly, in this presentation:
World is transitioning into a global village where English language is taking the front seat but not in a traditional British, American or any other way. [KPA Note: I suspect the grammatical deficiency might be because these are the notes she was reading at the lecture, but submitting that for publication is lax and lazy.]
She then continues to talk of the "visual" importance of modern-day communications, neglecting to mention the small fact, or covering it up, that she is reciting her poetry in English words, and much more often than her native country's Hindi words.
But, rather than talk about this usurpation of the English language by non-Anglo worlds, and discussing their variations on the English language, including the addition of many non-English words, she deviates from this by writing:
The biggest influence on new English is of the technological culture and the dynamism of the young who are the creative compelling users of technology.
(I should add here that Chopra's written text is probably the notes she was reading from at the presentation. And for a literary person, one would expect the final, public, version of her transcript not to include so many errors).
She says that now, since the English language has become this universal world language, and where the Third World has appropriated it to suit its cultural needs, a new generation is using it in a very different, visual way, and casting aside the scripted, textual language.
Chopra's thesis that language is getting more "visual" is badly developed. She seems to support at times the linguistic idea and at others the visual one. She exemplifies the intellectual laxness of these non-Western sophisticates. But it could be more astute than mere laziness. Her Hindi culture, despite its very well evolved written language, is still a culture of visuals. And with large parts of the population illiterate, or close to illiterate, only the elite educated would be able to read her books. And it is probably the same elite which is educated in advanced English and which could also read her books in English. And there is the major problem in India of the myriad of competing "national" languages. Not all (elite) Indians can speak Hindi fluently, but all elite Indians can speak English fluently (or with close to fluency).
And many elite Indians, including her, have travelled the thousands of miles across oceans to arrive at Canadian shores, manipulating all the tricks in the immigration how-to book, and with full assistance from Canadians themselves.
But these immigrants have come to invade and take over a country which let them in through peaceful acquiescence. Which is the more incredible: that they came at all, abandoning country, culture, peoples and ancestors, for opportunistic gains, or that they were let in without a single fight?
And once here, since their agenda, implicit, complicit, deliberate or instinctive, is a take-over and a transformation of this country so it resembles the one they left behind, they wll be incessant critics of everything Canadian, until things start to change according to their prescriptions. Until things start to look like them.
But what happens when this world does begin to change, and it beings to resemble their native lands? What happens when the sophistications they expect began to erode? What happens, for example, when first-class libraries as the Mississauga Central Library, which shelves their multicultural prize-winning books, is no longer the efficient and organized entity which we all unquestioningly expect it to be, and the literary sophisticates, Indians and whites, can no longer find where their books are stacked, since although the computerized system says "it is there" the book is conspicuously absent from the shelves?
What will they do with their criticisms then, their multicultural agendas, their dismissal and eradication of the culture for which they traveled thousands of miles to make sure that their books were shelved on the right spot in the public library so that people, they, could read them.
The literary textual world, the subject of Chopra's flippant verses, may not come to her rescue. But she is ready for that. She already has her faithful, complicit, visuals ready.
Chopra with at the launch of her book of poems and drawings SHE! The Restless Streak
on September 22 2018 at the Mississauga Central Library,
with the display of the drawings on the background wall
[Image source: Mississauga Library Twitter page]
Marian Kutarna with Chopra, holding Chopra's book of poems Ignited Lines.
Chopra's 2010 poetry reading and book launch
where she recited in Hindi and in English "Adieu to the Dawn" at her book launch
on February 2010 at a Mississauga Central Library event.
Marian Kutarna, then manager of the History & Art department (now manager of library circulation), says, after Chopra read one of her poems in Hindi:
"The sound of a language is poetry. The human heart is the same heart in all of us."
Followed by a round of applause.
Below is the more complete video from which Kutarna's excerpt (from 1:45 min - 3:30 min) is taken:
Glimpses of the Setting Sun - A multilingual poetry celebration
Book Launch and Art Exhibition
Sunday February 28, 2010, 2 pm - 4 pm
Mississauga Central Library, Mississauga, Ontario, Canada
But I find Chopra uncomfortable with the Kutarna's effusive admiration. Chopra make subtle and begrudging jabs at the English and American civilizations and language (which she posts at her blog - I've posted the full article at the end of this blog as well as a bref excerpt above) to whom she owes everything for her highly lucrative and esteemed literary life in Canada.
Chopra is of course a seasoned ethnicist, who has used Canada's infrastructure to its maximum. She is "Friend of the Library" at its most opportunistic.
Below is Chopra reading a poem with those special sounds that Kutarna found so compelling (and incomprehensible!).
I saw a collection of Chopra's paintings and drawings at the Living Arts Centre here in Mississauga. The center is trying to promote the various arts, and has a full-scale concert hall, a gallery, and various artists' workshops. It is quite a formidable building. I saw Chopra's work hanging somewhere in the gallery, and looking online, I realized it was at the LIVE Restaurant, which is mostly used for after-concert meals and refreshments.
Art and Gastronomie
Chopra's works hanging above wine glasses and folded napkins: the epitome of Western sophistication,
but with the Eastern content
Hanging here are oil paintings "Hope" and "Afloat"
and selling for $285
The center, including the restaurant, is partially funded by government grants, and is losing money, and is accepting all kinds of events to cover its costs. One recent one was a body builders' gathering, where strange, inflated humans were circling around the hallway. Anothers is to hold various ethnic festivals, and their programs includes a recent presentation by a Chinese circus and an Indian religious event to celebrate one of their gods. Chopra's program fits that bill.
Chopra's works at LIVE were:
"SHE: A Restless Streak" Art Show by Meena Chopra
CELEBRATING THE SPIRIT OF WOMANHOOD
At:
"Live Cuisine" at Living Arts Centre Mississauga from March 9, 2015 until May 25, 2015.
4141 Living Arts Drive, Mississauga, Ontario
Mississauga, Ontario L5B
9th to 25th May
10:30am to 5:30pm everyday
Below is a drawing hanging at the LIVE restaurant, but which I also found online. The photograph of her paintings hanging in the restaurant is what I took, as well as the view of the LIVE restaurant's entrance.
Drawing:
Meena Chopra
Pastel on paper 11'x8"
From Chopra's series: She: A Restless Streak
Poem
Excerpt from Chopra's poem Iconoclast (full poem below)
The real in her
longs to be
revealed through layers
seeking identifications
undraped
in a figureless
formless existence.
Iconoclast
Is she a vase
or a statue on a pedestal ?
She is no icon!
Her feet strong
firm on ground.
The earth supports her.
The real in her
longs to be
revealed through layers
seeking identifications
undraped
in a figureless
formless existence.
In vain,
she searches - an iconoclast,
beyond the turbidity of love.
Will she find one in you ?
Is this the forceful Hindu Goddess, the statue on a pedestal, that Kutarna is looking for? Will she find this figureless, formless, elusive creature?
Chopra may present herself as a modern, progressive oriental with Western ideas. But, as we look deeper into her thoughts, she remains much more Indian than Western. And she is not forthright with Kutarna, whom she will surely abandon when her authentic "identity" trumps pleasantries, leaving Kutarna with nothing but those incomprehensible sounds.
An Indian Woman at the LIVE Restaurant
At one time (about a year ago) the restaurant had changed its buffet style menu from an exclusively European menu and had added one or two Indian dishes. I asked recently about booking the restaurant, and found out that one of the chefs was Indian. When I looked at the buffet, the menu included only one Indian dish, and that was a simple chickpea dip. I asked to meet the chef to inquire about group rates, and was introduced to what looked like a cook. "You can order anything you want. Yes, we can do Indian dishes, butter chicken, anything."
My conclusion was that the attempt to turn this wonderful little place into an Indian/ethnic restaurant didn't work. How many folk festivals are there going to be, and how many are "inclusive" enough to attract a wider audience than just Indians?
Chopra's work is hardly that of the goddess/artist of Kutarna's eulogy. She has managed to convince the ethnicist Indians who still require the admiration of white Canadians - and they got one at least via Kutarna, and those multi-culti whites who still run the organizations - that she is worthy of their attention. And, following the multi-culti/ethnicist recipe, that is not hard to do. I don't doubt that Chopra has artistic ability, but she wouldn't have reached such a level of recognition hadn't she had all these underlying "qualities," and all that "support."
Chopra with her painting Eyes of Time, with a snake-like sign on her forehead [Image Source: The Hamilton Spectator, Sept. 2017]
Chopra eschews the bindi, a traditional decorative red dot painted on the forehead. Instead, she paints a bold black snake figure in its place. Like the bold images of her paintings, it has what she calls her “artistic signature.“ It is me,” she said. “It is a part of who I am.” [Image and text source: Toronto Star, August 9, 2010]
Note: "Celebrating 150 years of Canada" was a nationwide observance of many types of events and festivals commemorating the 150th anniversary of the country's Confederation
“Aankhen uthin to dekha kaynaat jal rahi thi
jab ye jhukin to tum the aur kuchh bhi nahin”
Roughly translated from Hindi:
When the eyes rose outwardly they saw the entire universe aflame.
When they opened inwards, it was you (the one reality of life) and nothing but you.
(From Chopra's Hindi poem And Nothing Else)
Art Exhibition: EYES OF TIME - The eye as a channel into the new dimensions of life.
By Artist and Author Meena Chopra
(Celebrating 150 years of Canada)
“Eyes wear the wings of time to fly beyond the cry of human desires, reveries and the realities,
penetrating the boundaries of the visible universe into the unknown, invisible realms".
Exhibition is on view from 8th August to 15th September 2017
Venue: Heritage Mississauga 1921 Dundas St W, Mississauga
Below is text from Chopra's writing from her blog page written in 2013. I tried to shorten it, but I think it should be read in its full, error-filled (for a wordmonger! but she does tell us of her Hindi bias) totality to understand in the scope of its message:
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- One World, One English, The Many Languages of the Imagination
World is transitioning into a global village where English language is taking the front seat but not in a traditional British, American or any other way. It is evolving with variety of different realistic cultural influences. The biggest influence on new English is of the technological culture and the dynamism of the young who are the creative compelling users of technology. The idiom and syntax are changing fast.
Manifestation of the subtle thought imaging is taking over directly from the mental sound vibrations in a language where we have started expressing in symbols like smilyes, pictograms and info-graphics etc. This visual expression of subtle thought is the immediate outer expression of our mental imagery perhaps descended on us from that one ultimate sound vibration (Shabd Brahm). The entire generation is on the thresh hold of being more and more visual in their expression of thought.
Underneath this visual explosion, English, with its new tools of expression is threading the beads of different languages so to speak, where the images of mind in their visual expression have started taking the lead.
What language does imagination has? It is a question that eludes many of us. Whatever way our creativity gets stimulated, according to the researchers, as humans our thinking is mostly in images and is visual. To add, from generations, powerful imagery has always been an intrinsic part of any creative writing which actually surpasses the barriers of language and language becomes a medium of creative expression.
Einstein said that he always thought in images, in his words, "I very rarely think in words. A thought comes, and I may try to express it in words afterwards,"
So what we have observed with any of our senses, we can imagine; what we imagine, we image.
Traditionally in a country like Canada with its English predominance, linguistic diversity definitely breaks down the barriers to intercultural dialogue and promotes multilingualism as a fundamental tool for the prosperity of literature. Linguistic diversity also contributes to enhancing creativity and innovation at all levels of education and learning. There is a clear link between multilingualism and creativity because knowledge of languages gives access to other ways of thinking and to other cultures as well, reinforcing our creative capacities. This in turn has a positive impact on innovation.
In the changing environment where English is the predominant world language, Hindi like many other languages of the world is also transforming. It is becoming richer because of cultural influences for both in its usage, vocabulary and expressiveness. English language definitely has a major influence on Hindi as well as it has on many other languages in many ways.
There are many remarkable Hindi literary blogs on the net. It is adapting very well to the transition and the idiom. This change is inevitable with technological progression where English is predominant.
Some facts and observations about Hindi language:
- After Chinese, Hindi is the maximum spoken language of the world.
- Hindi has been one of the first languages which was picked up by Google when they started adding and introducing languages to the net for a wider usage of technology with languages.
- Instant Google translations are available at hand for all languages.
Hindi Writers' Guild, the organization I represent here, was formed in June 2008. It is the first of its kind multi-faceted organization in Canada. Its prime objective is to educate and increase public understanding of Hindi literature and the language, also to develop the writing skills in Hindi language. Organization promotes South Asian writers and literature through seminars, lectures and conferences etc. Computer literacy and promotion of book publication in Canada are the main intents of Hindi Writers’ Guild.
To elaborate the organization is involved in the following:
- GUIDANCE IN THE ART OF HINDI WRITING AND HINDI LITERATURE
- FACILITATION OF COMPUTER LITERACY IN HINDI WRITING
- FACILITATION OF EDITING AND PUBLICATION OF HINDI BOOKS
- TRANSLATION AND PUBLICATION OF NON - HINDI LITERATURE IN HINDI
- ARRANGING LECTURES BY EMINENT LAUREATES ON HINDI LITERATURE, BUSINESS, ENVIRONMENT AND PHILOSOPHY
- HOLDING BOOK EXHIBITIONS, PUBLIC SEMINARS AND CONFERENCES TO PROMOTE HINDI LANGUAGE AND LITERATURE
- PROVIDE TRANSLATION SERVICES FOR HOSPITALS AND OTHER INSTITUTIONS FOR INDIVIDUALS WHOSE MOTHER TONGUE IS NOT ENGLISH
- LIAISON AND COLLABORATION WITH CHARITABLE ORGANIZATIONS, NON-PROFIT COMMUNITY, GOVERNMENT AGENCIES, EDUCATIONAL INSTITUTIONS IN THE DEVELOPMENT OF PROGRAMS RELATING TO HINDI LANGUAGE AND HINDI LITERATURE
- HELPING IMMIGRANTS ASSIMILATE INTO CANADIAN SOCIETY BY DEVELOPING HINDI INDO-CANADIAN LITERATURE IN CANADIAN PERSPECTIVE
- MAINTAINING HINDI WEB-SITE FOR E-MAGAZINE AND E-LIBRARY FOR MEMBERS
Meena Chopra with Mississauga's Mayor Bonnie Crombie in the Mississauga Central Library
At the book launch for "She! The Relentless Streak, a collection of poems and drawings"
on Saturday, September 22, 2018
"My art is my search for the moments beyond the ones of self knowledge. It is the rhythmic fantasy; a restless streak which looks for its own fulfillment! A stillness that moves within! An intense search for my origin and ultimate identity". [Source: Meena Chopra's Art World]
My most recent post Meena Chorpa: East Does NOT Meet West had some typo and (basic) factual errors, although not anything readers couldn't decipher or correct for themselves. I've made the revisions in the same post. You can read it there, about
Meena Chopra, a poet and artist, [who] officially launched her book of poetry and art SHE! The Restless Streak on August 26 at the Mississauga Central Library with Mayor Bonnie Crombie making the introductory presentation.
Meena Chopra, a poet and artist, officially launched her book of poetry and art SHE! The Restless Streak on August 26 at the Mississauga Central Library with Mayor Bonnie Crombie making the introductory presentation.
Above is a view of by artist Meena Chopra's She! The Relentless Streak art exhibit on now at the Mississauga Central Library
Below is Meena Chopra with Mississauga Mayor Bonnie Crombie at the book launch for She! The Relentless Streak, a collection of poems and drawings, on Saturday, September 22, 2018
"My art is my search for the moments beyond the ones of self knowledge. It is the rhythmic fantasy; a restless streak which looks for its own fulfillment! A stillness that moves within! An intense search for my origin and ultimate identity". Source: Meena Chopra's Art World
Below is the completed article from my May 25 2015 draft Meena Chopra's Ephemera: Art in the Multicultural Era
Meena Chopra is the Indian, Third World Goddess that has evoked Mississauga's awe and wonder.
And Chopra knows this. She and her world are systematically undermining and curtailing the white West's civilization. She says so, clearly, in this presentation:
World is transitioning into a global village where English language is taking the front seat but not in a traditional British, American or any other way. [KPA Note: I suspect the grammatical deficiency might be because these are the notes she was reading at the lecture, but submitting that for publication is lax and lazy.]
She then continues to talk of the "visual" importance of modern-day communications, neglecting to mention the small fact, or covering it up, that she is reciting her poetry in English words, and much more often than her native country's Hindi words.
But, rather than talk about this usurpation of the English language by non-Anglo worlds, and discussing their variations on the English language, including the addition of many non-English words, she deviates from this by writing:
The biggest influence on new English is of the technological culture and the dynamism of the young who are the creative compelling users of technology.
(I should add here that Chopra's written text is probably the notes she was reading from at the presentation. And for a literary person, one would expect the final, public, version of her transcript not to include so many errors).
She says that now, since the English language has become this universal world language, and where the Third World has appropriated it to suit its cultural needs, a new generation is using it in a very different, visual way, and casting aside the scripted, textual language.
Chopra's thesis that language is getting more "visual" is badly developed. She seems to support at times the linguistic idea and at others the visual one. She exemplifies the intellectual laxness of these non-Western sophisticates. But t could be more astute than mere laziness. Her Hindi culture despite its very well evolved written language, is still a culture of visuals. With large parts of the population illiterate, or close to illiterate, only the elite educated would be able to read her books. And they are probably the same elite who are educated in advanced English and who could also read her books in English. ANd there is the major problem n nda of the myriad of competing "national" languages. Not all (elite) Indians can speak Hindi fluently, but all elite Indians can speak English fluently (or close to fluency).
And many elite Indians have travelled the thousands of miles across oceans, including her, to arrive at Canadian shores, manipulating all the tricks in the immigration how-to book, and with full assistance from Canadans themselves.
But these immigrants have come to invade and take over a country which let them in through peaceful acquiescence. Which is the more incredible: that they came at all abandoning country, culture, peoples and ancestors for opportunity gains, or that they were let in without a single fight?
And once here since their agenda, implicit, complicit, deliberate or instinctive, s a tae-over a transformation of this country to resemble the one they left behind, they wll be incessant critics of everything Canadian, until things start to change according to their prescriptions.
But what happens when this world begins to change, and beings to resemble their native lands? What happens when the sophistications they expect began to erode? What happens, for example, when first-class libraries as the Mississauga Central Library, which shelves their multicultural prize-winning books, is no longer the efficient and organized entity which we all unquestioningly expect to be, and the literary sophisticates, Indians and whites, can no longer find where their books are stacked, since although the computerized system says "it is there" the book is conspicuously absent from the shelves?
What will they do with their criticisms then, their multicultural agendas, their dismissal and eradication of the culture that they traveled thousands of miles to make sure that ther boos were shelved on the right spot in the public library so that people cold read it.
The literary textual world, the subject of Chopra's flippant verses, can no longer come to her rescue. But she is ready for that. She already has the visuals ready.
Chopra with at the launch of her book of poems and drawings SHE! The Restless Streak
on September 22 2018 at the Mississauga Central Library,
with the display of the drawings on the background wall
[Image source: Mississauga Library Twitter page]
Marian Kutarna with Chopra, holding Chopra's book of poems Ignited Lines.
Chopra's 2010 poetry reading and book launch
where she recited in Hindi and in English Adieu to the Dawn at her book launch
on February 2010 at a Mississauga Central Library event.
Marian Kutanra, then manager of the History & Art department (now manager of library circulation), says, after Chopra read one of her poems in Hindi:
"The sound of a language s poetry. The human heart is the same heart in all of us."
Followed by a round of applause.
Below is the more complete video from which Kutarna's excerpt (from 1:45 min - 3:30 min) is taken:
Glimpses of the Setting Sun - A multilingual poetry celebration
Book Launch and Art Exhibition
Sunday February 28, 2010, 2 pm - 4 pm
Mississauga Central Library, Mississauga, Ontario, Canada
But I find Chopra uncomfortable with the Kutarna's effusive admiration. Chopra make subtle and begrudging jabs at the English and American civilizations and language (which she posts at her blog - I've posted the full article at the end of this blog post) to whom she owes everything for her highly lucrative literary life in Canada.
Chopra is of course a seasoned ethnicist, who has used Candada's infrastructure to its maximum. She is "Friend of the Library" at its most opportunistic.
Below is Chopra reading a poem with those special sounds that Kutarna found so compelling (and incomprehensible!).
I saw a collection of Chopra's paintings and drawings at the Living Arts Centre here in Mississauga. The center is trying to promote the various arts, and has a full-scale concert hall, a gallery, and various artists' workshops. It is quite a formidable building. I saw Chopra's work hanging somewhere in the gallery, and looking online, I realized it was at the LIVE Restaurant, which is mostly used for after-concert meals and refreshments.
Art and Gastronomie
Chopra's works hanging above wine glasses and folded napkins: the epitome of Western sophistication,
but with the Eastern content
Hanging here are oil paintings "Hope" and "Afloat"
and selling for $285
The center, including the restaurant, is partially funded by government grants, and is losing money, and is accepting all kinds of events to cover its costs. One recent one was a body builders' gathering, where strange, inflated humans were circling around the hallway. Another is to hold various ethnic festivals, and their programs includes a recent presentation by a Chinese circus and an Indian religious event to celebrate one of their gods. Chopra's program fits that bill.
Chopra's works at LIVE were:
"SHE: A Restless Streak" Art Show by Meena Chopra
CELEBRATING THE SPIRIT OF WOMANHOOD
At:
"Live Cuisine" at Living Arts Centre Mississauga from March 9, 2015 until May 25, 2015.
4141 Living Arts Drive, Mississauga, Ontario
Mississauga, Ontario L5B
9thMarch to 25th May
10:30am to 5:30pm everyday
Below is a drawing hanging at the LIVE restaurant, but which I also found online. The photograph of her paintings hanging in the restaurant is what I took, as well as the view of the LIVE restaurant's entrance.
Drawing:
Meena Chopra
Pastel on paper 11'x8"
From Chopra's series: She: A Restless Streak
Poem
Excerpt from Chopra's poem Iconoclast (full poem below)
The real in her
longs to be
revealed through layers
seeking identifications
undraped
in a figureless
formless existence.
Iconoclast
Is she a vase
or a statue on a pedestal ?
She is no icon!
Her feet strong
firm on ground.
The earth supports her.
The real in her
longs to be
revealed through layers
seeking identifications
undraped
in a figureless
formless existence.
In vain,
she searches - an iconoclast,
beyond the turbidity of love.
Will she find one in you ?
Is this the forceful Hindu Goddess, the statue on a pedestal, that Kutarna is looking for? Will she find this figureless, formless, elusive creature?
Chopra may present herself as a modern, progressive oriental with Western ideas. But, as we look deeper into her thoughts, she remains much more Indian than Western. And she is not forthright with Kutarna, whom she will surely abandon when her authentic "identity" trumps pleasantries, leaving Kutarna with nothing but those incomprehensible sounds.
An Indian Woman at the LIVE Restaurant
At one time (about a year ago) the restaurant had changed its buffet style menu from an exclusively European menu and had added one or two Indian dishes. I asked recently about booking the restaurant, and found out that one of the chefs was Indian. When I looked at the buffet, the menu included only one Indian dish, and that was a simple chickpea dip. I asked to meet the chef to inquire about group rates, and was introduced to what looked like a cook. "You can order anything you want. Yes, we can do Indian dishes, butter chicken, anything."
My conclusion was that the attempt to turn this wonderful little place into an Indian/Ethnic restaurant didn't work. How many folk festivals are there going to be, and how many are "inclusive" enough to attract a wider audience than just Indians?
Chopra's work is hardly that of the goddess/artist of Kutarna's eulogy. She has managed to convince the ethnicist Indians who still require the admiration of white Canadians - and they got one at least via Kutarna, and those multi-culti whites who still run the organizations, that she is worthy of their attention. And, following the multi-culti/ethnicist recipe, that is not hard to to. I don't doubt that Chopra has artistic ability, but she wouldn't have reached such a level of recognition hadn't she had all these underlying "qualities."
Chopra with her painting Eyes of Time, with a snake-like sign on her forehead [Image Source: The Hamilton Spectator, Sept. 2017]
Chopra eschews the bindi, a traditional decorative red dot painted on the forehead. Instead, she paints a bold black snake figure in its place. Like the bold images of her paintings, it has what she calls her “artistic signature.“ It is me,” she said. “It is a part of who I am.” [Image and text source: Toronto Star, August 9, 2010]
Note: "Celebrating 150 years of Canada" was a nationwide observance of many types of events and festivals commemorating the 150th anniversary of the country's Confederation
“Aankhen uthin to dekha kaynaat jal rahi thi
jab ye jhukin to tum the aur kuchh bhi nahin”
Roughly translated from Hindi:
When the eyes rose outwardly they saw the entire universe aflame.
When they opened inwards, it was you (the one reality of life) and nothing but you.
(From Chopra's Hindi poem And Nothing Else)
Art Exhibition: EYES OF TIME - The eye as a channel into the new dimensions of life.
By Artist and Author Meena Chopra
(Celebrating 150 years of Canada)
“Eyes wear the wings of time to fly beyond the cry of human desires, reveries and the realities,
penetrating the boundaries of the visible universe into the unknown, invisible realms".
Exhibition is on view from 8th August to 15th September 2017
Venue: Heritage Mississauga 1921 Dundas St W, Mississauga
Below is text from Chopra's writing from her blog page written in 2013. I tried to shorten it, but I think it should be read in its full, error-filled (for a wordmonger! but she does tell us of her Hindi bias) totality to understand in the scope of its message:
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------v------------------------- One World, One English, The Many Languages of the Imagination
World is transitioning into a global village where English language is taking the front seat but not in a traditional British, American or any other way. It is evolving with variety of different realistic cultural influences. The biggest influence on new English is of the technological culture and the dynamism of the young who are the creative compelling users of technology. The idiom and syntax are changing fast.
Manifestation of the subtle thought imaging is taking over directly from the mental sound vibrations in a language where we have started expressing in symbols like smilyes, pictograms and info-graphics etc. This visual expression of subtle thought is the immediate outer expression of our mental imagery perhaps descended on us from that one ultimate sound vibration (Shabd Brahm). The entire generation is on the thresh hold of being more and more visual in their expression of thought.
Underneath this visual explosion, English, with its new tools of expression is threading the beads of different languages so to speak, where the images of mind in their visual expression have started taking the lead.
What language does imagination has? It is a question that eludes many of us. Whatever way our creativity gets stimulated, according to the researchers, as humans our thinking is mostly in images and is visual. To add, from generations, powerful imagery has always been an intrinsic part of any creative writing which actually surpasses the barriers of language and language becomes a medium of creative expression.
Einstein said that he always thought in images, in his words, "I very rarely think in words. A thought comes, and I may try to express it in words afterwards,"
So what we have observed with any of our senses, we can imagine; what we imagine, we image.
Traditionally in a country like Canada with its English predominance, linguistic diversity definitely breaks down the barriers to intercultural dialogue and promotes multilingualism as a fundamental tool for the prosperity of literature. Linguistic diversity also contributes to enhancing creativity and innovation at all levels of education and learning. There is a clear link between multilingualism and creativity because knowledge of languages gives access to other ways of thinking and to other cultures as well, reinforcing our creative capacities. This in turn has a positive impact on innovation.
In the changing environment where English is the predominant world language, Hindi like many other languages of the world is also transforming. It is becoming richer because of cultural influences for both in its usage, vocabulary and expressiveness. English language definitely has a major influence on Hindi as well as it has on many other languages in many ways.
There are many remarkable Hindi literary blogs on the net. It is adapting very well to the transition and the idiom. This change is inevitable with technological progression where English is predominant.
Some facts and observations about Hindi language:
- After Chinese, Hindi is the maximum spoken language of the world.
- Hindi has been one of the first languages which was picked up by Google when they started adding and introducing languages to the net for a wider usage of technology with languages.
- Instant Google translations are available at hand for all languages.
Hindi Writers' Guild, the organization I represent here, was formed in June 2008. It is the first of its kind multi-faceted organization in Canada. Its prime objective is to educate and increase public understanding of Hindi literature and the language, also to develop the writing skills in Hindi language. Organization promotes South Asian writers and literature through seminars, lectures and conferences etc. Computer literacy and promotion of book publication in Canada are the main intents of Hindi Writers’ Guild.
To elaborate the organization is involved in the following:
- GUIDANCE IN THE ART OF HINDI WRITING AND HINDI LITERATURE
- FACILITATION OF COMPUTER LITERACY IN HINDI WRITING
- FACILITATION OF EDITING AND PUBLICATION OF HINDI BOOKS
- TRANSLATION AND PUBLICATION OF NON - HINDI LITERATURE IN HINDI
- ARRANGING LECTURES BY EMINENT LAUREATES ON HINDI LITERATURE, BUSINESS, ENVIRONMENT AND PHILOSOPHY
- HOLDING BOOK EXHIBITIONS, PUBLIC SEMINARS AND CONFERENCES TO PROMOTE HINDI LANGUAGE AND LITERATURE
- PROVIDE TRANSLATION SERVICES FOR HOSPITALS AND OTHER INSTITUTIONS FOR INDIVIDUALS WHOSE MOTHER TONGUE IS NOT ENGLISH
- LIAISON AND COLLABORATION WITH CHARITABLE ORGANIZATIONS, NON-PROFIT COMMUNITY, GOVERNMENT AGENCIES, EDUCATIONAL INSTITUTIONS IN THE DEVELOPMENT OF PROGRAMS RELATING TO HINDI LANGUAGE AND HINDI LITERATURE
- HELPING IMMIGRANTS ASSIMILATE INTO CANADIAN SOCIETY BY DEVELOPING HINDI INDO-CANADIAN LITERATURE IN CANADIAN PERSPECTIVE
- MAINTAINING HINDI WEB-SITE FOR E-MAGAZINE AND E-LIBRARY FOR MEMBERS
Here is what I wrote regarding Kristor's comment (and further down I correct a typo (actually it was my spellcheck) at the Orthosphere:
[confrontation on principles]...makes liberal elites especially vicious when confronted or pressed to define, or to declare, their principles.
And there is a Brian D. Finch who picks up on my "error," where used "viscous" instead of "vicious."
He writes:
I find the liberal elites especially viscous when smarmingly smothering all opposition on the mainstream media.
I should have kept the original!
One of the attractive things about a liberal/nominalist/naturalist/materialist take on things is that it feels as though it resolves all sorts of thorny (interesting, important, and pressing) philosophical perplexities by simply eliminating the entities involved by means of a reduction not just improper, but – in retrospect, from the richer reactionary position – positively brutal, and certainly vicious.
Consciousness is the best example I can think of. If you can convince yourself that eliminativism is true, you never have to wonder about consciousness again. Likewise, if you can convince yourself that Ricardo is the last word on trade, you never have to think about it again. Or if there is nothing but matter, you can just stop worrying about forms, teloi, and so forth. If only liberal democracy is morally tolerable, then hey, monarchy and aristocracy, together with all their attendant complexities, are simply off the table. And, obviously, if there are no moral absolutes, then there’s no reason to fret about sex, at all, one way or the other. Which is cool.
Reclaiming Beauty Kidist | September 19, 2018 at 12:10 PM
I disagree with Kristor here. Liberal elites understand that their “elimination” processeses are a form of camouflage. For example, they are aware that they are eliminating monarchy and its inherent hierarchy, but replacing it with other forms of “necessary” hierarchical systems. Politicians (for the good of the people), journalists (to tell “the story”), intellectuals (to discover “truth”), artists (to create beauty – or a superior form of ugliness) all believe in the hierarchy of their positions, and that they are the elites who can do this.
But they all disagree with the hierarchy that comes with Western, Christian tradition, as their contention is with the “Christian” part, the Godly part. Theirs is afterall a “free-for-all” hierarchy, based in some way on arbitrary, or man-made rules and definitions (e.g. what is truth and how does one tell the truth, what is beauty, etc.) and they know that they stand on fragile ground of wavering principles that are ready to crumble, which makes them especially viscous when confronted or pressed to define, or to declare, their principles.
Reclaiming Beauty Kidist | September 19, 2018 at 12:23 PM
T
he last phrase should read:
which makes liberal elites especially vicious when confronted or pressed to define, or to declare, their principles.
This gives a whole another meaning to "double cross."
I am still always surprised when Christian symbols are taken over by this hedonistic pagan world that we live in, although I shouldn't be by now. But the Devil has ever-creative ways to attract our attention.
The jewelry store Alex and Ani, which has found a spot at the "Luxury Wing" of Mississauga Square One Shopping Centre, markets itself as (and it IS out to make money)
[T]he original meaning makers.
Sharing ancient wisdom. Interpreting into modern design. Alive with purpose. Strong and unafraid to speak. Leading the narrative. Carrying light. Impacting communities. EMPOWERING THE WORLD.
WE ARE DESIGNED TO CONNECT YOU TO:
YOUR TRUE SELF
Find out more about yourself, and the SYMBOLS YOU NEED NOW.
WHO YOU LOVE
Remind them they’re cherished with MEANINGFUL GIFTS from our custom guide.
GUIDING FORCES
The universe speaks to us in SIGNS and SYMBOLS. Find yours.
THE SPIRIT OF GIVING BACK
Support non-profits and help CHANGE LIVES around the world with us.
And how do they do this with the cross? By telling us that the cross is
The ultimate cultural symbol [which] symbolizes health, life, immortality, and the union of Heaven and Earth. Possessing spiritual power, the cross is a symbol of the triumph of good and a sign of infinite love. Wear this symbol to honor your personal beliefs in the cross.
No God, no Jesus Christ, nothing. Symbols, which in the enchanted world of the occult side wth the Devil to put charms (spells) on us.
Cross Necklace Charm
$28
life | union | immortality
One of the most ancient religious symbols, the Cross symbolizes life, immortality, and the union of Heaven and Earth. It possesses spiritual power, embodying sacrifice, triumph, and salvation. When you carry the cross, infinite love surrounds you. Honor your personal beliefs and keep the Cross adjustable necklace close
“What can [the thinking Catholic] be thinking about, if he is not thinking about the Mistakes of Moses, as discovered by Mr. Miggles of Pudsey, or boldly defying all the terrors of the Inquisition which existed two hundred years ago in Spain?”
He continues to say, quoting from his own post:
Some time ago, I wrote that rejecting the Enlightenment is only the beginning of thought.
One way that the Enlightenment controls the minds of billions, locking them into a degrading and absurd mental slavery, is by making people imagine they know what’s on the other side. “Without the social contract…tyranny! Without separation of Church and state…religious warfare! Without feminism…rape! Without capitalism…communism! Without cosmopolitanism…Nazis! So love your chains, and repeat the slogans like a good boy.” You know how it goes.
[T]hose blinded by the Enlightenment have no idea what is on the other side. How could they, with such a narrow, unimaginative, and parochial worldview? In fact, the world of alternatives is vast, so vast that anyone beginning to step outside Enlightenment strictures should be warned that the greatest intellectual challenge is still ahead…
His point, I believe is to stop thinking in (impossible) negatives and to think in positives. Why not? Why not be cheery and optimistic? Why not believe that the world can be a better place and in fact is a good place!
Of course this requires two things - in my humble (and clearly unenlightened) opinion:
1. This is God's world. To destroy and discard it is sacrilegious. As we stand by God, he will guide us and show us the good way.
2. We need more than just the ephemera of ideas. The world of ideas should become something concrete. We are beings of flesh and blood and therefore so should be the world we create - emitted and ejected from our "thoughts."
From that we should discern that we are social beings. And the most sincere and sturdy manifestation of our "socialness" is through geography, with concrete land. Our countries!
And where else can we build that goodness so that it lasts, so that it is of Godly use for this (our) and future generations?
For example: we need to worship God not (only) through ephemeral thoughts but through clear actions. Our imaginations become something tangible.
We build churches for this reason, where the sights (the stained glass windows) the smells (the incense) and the sounds (the lovely choral and organ music) allow that we may concretely perceive God; that we are sure he is there, next to us, using all our senses to convince us of His presence.
But a French church is different from an English church as of course manifested even by the words used to praise God. As is an Ethiopian church from a Mexican one.
To reach the invisible God, we must search for Him through our own visible means: our own language, our own musical compositions, our own artistic creations.
By glorifying God thus, we also glorify our selves, our lands, our attachments, our solid bases.
Imagination is a necessary start (as all artists will tell you). We NEED to imagine God. But left on its own, imagination becomes like a beautiful flicker on a cinematographic screen. As we reach out to it, we can never attain it, and are left frustrated and bewildered. And bitter at this god who we feel with all our hurt, and heart, has abandoned us.
But we just got the strategy wrong. We listened to the wrong "experts."
Bonald writes:
It is no doubt a great thing to free oneself from the cloud of humbug into which we are all born. However, clearing one’s vision is only the start of seeing; next we must actually look around. One way that the Enlightenment controls the minds of billions, locking them into a degrading and absurd mental slavery, is by making people imagine they know what’s on the other side. “Without the social contract…tyranny! Without separation of Church and state…religious warfare! Without feminism…rape! Without capitalism…communism! Without cosmopolitanism…Nazis! So love your chains, and repeat the slogans like a good boy.” You know how it goes. You heard it, and you remember how it kept you bound for a long time after you realized that you didn’t particularly like what they were pushing…It is not true that conservatism or reaction needs to postulate any kind of ideal time in the past, but the Enlightened must commit themselves to the belief that the past was an utter horror.
And continues:
However, those blinded by the Enlightenment have no idea what is on the other side. How could they, with such a narrow, unimaginative, and parochial worldview? In fact, the world of alternatives is vast, so vast that anyone beginning to step outside Enlightenment strictures should be warned that the greatest intellectual challenge is still ahead…
Several high profile white men have taken up Asian wives. They often divorce their first, white wives, to marry the Asian women. Media Mogul Rupert Murdoch, CBS Chairman Les Moonves, and Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg have Asian wives. Murdoch and Les Moonves both divorced their first, white, wives before marrying their second, Asian, wives, although both had affairs with the Asian women while still married to their first wives. Mark Zuckerberg skipped the white wife period, since marrying an Asian woman is no longer a social anomaly, but it will be interesting to see how his marriage fares with his Westernized and Western-born Chinese-American wife. (2012)
...Julie Chen's failing show The Talk has a panel without a straight, white, American woman. The straight, white, American women she has (or had) on her show have some Jewish ancestry. Leah Remini is half Jewish from her mother's side and both parents of Marissa Winokur are Jewish. (2012)
Fast forward to 2018 and there still is no white woman with gravitas on "'The Talk."
Instead there is Sharon Osbourne whose claim to fame is her "heavy metal rocker" husband who bites off bats' heads in his concerts. And Osbourne is NOT an American white woman but sits there with her grating lower class English accent, which American white women cannot relate to. Osbourne is also half Jewish.
And Sara Gilbert, a lesbian "married" with three children (IV and other conception and birth methods), who is Jewish (on both sides).
Other members of this illustrious group are:
- Eve, a black hip-hop musician who is for her 2002 song “Let Me Blow Ya Mind, and who has acted in a t.v. production titled "xXx.”
- Sheryl Underwood, a black military woman and comedian, and "a lifelong Republican." However, she campaigned for Barack Obama's re-election in 2012. She also campaigned for Hillary Clinton in the 2016 election "because," she says "we have to protect the legacy of President Obama. Low voter turnout benefits Donald Trump and the Republicans. He can't win."
These personalities are deliberately chosen to undermine the white majority of America, amongst whom are found the racist, sexist, homophobic and all round evil people who voted for President Trump. But Trump is not their ally and in fact is closer to Underwood than she thinks, and who has been capitulating towards liberals (and Democrats) since his election.
In the above video, the "ladies" at The View, after which the badly worded "The Talk" (that's what you do with your 12-year old) was molded chime in and with some humor by Joy Behar.
Chen also hosts Big Brother which she started before she married Moonves. Big Brother is a creepy show where a group of strangers live in the same "house" for a period of time as they get eliminated over "challenges." There is Survivor (a far superior show) which challenges people in some wild and remote island. But in the same house as people with no way of going out unless you're eliminated? Well for half a million dollars...
Hooray for Fay + Fluffy! Excitement is building for their visit to AGM Tot Spot on Fri. Sept. 21! Thanks @insauga f/ spreading the word. #mississauga #mississaugaarts #community #storytelling #reading #storytime #communityarts #LGBTQ #agmfirstnewnext #dragqueenstorytime 😍🌈⚡️
The nefarious Art Gallery of Mississauga is holding full-fisted to its "transgender" themed activities. Here are two that have been given the seat of honor at the "Tot Spot" storytelling program.
On Sunday (I believe this is significant, and I am getting subtle pointers these days showing me the spiritual significance of these episodes) at the Duke of York Boulevard (also significant, commemorating the British, Western heritage of Mississauga), just in front of the AGM (read below for more on this), I saw a tall "darkish" "person" (Indian - "East"?) wht grey-purple dyed hair styled in a short bob, with a long dark gray/black dress without much of a style (it looked khaki) and very flat ballet slippers (and the feet looked unusually small for the height hmmmm.....).
I found the whole get-up odd: partly the very tall height of the person; the very long masculine-looking hands (albeit skinny); the unattractive clothing (even contemporary legging-wearing overweight women attempt at some aesthetics: e.g. the leggings are from some trendy store); the stiffness of the person's walk (women walk with a bouncy gait even if they're tall and skinny); and the lack of communication between the person and "her" companion - an older woman who looked like she could have been the mother, and who seemed more to be more guiding "her" than walking with "her."
I walked around a bus stop to appear to be waiting for a bus, and stood before them to have a better look. I was right, this indeed was a "transgendered." "She" had a pained expression, perhaps due to illness. And was caked in makeup.
So now that the word is out that the AGM is a "gender friendly" "safe place," and also a multicultured h[e]aven for "transgendered of color," we will probably be seeing more of the Mississauga's so-inclined making their pilgrimage to the shrine. After all the AGM is now becoming a center for alternative religions, where Christianity is out (and maligned) and all others are in.
Hooray for Fay + Fluffy! Excitement is building for their visit to AGM Tot Spot on Fri. Sept. 21! Thanks @insauga f/ spreading the word. #mississauga #mississaugaarts #community #storytelling #reading #storytime #communityarts #LGBTQ #agmfirstnewnext #dragqueenstorytime 😍🌈⚡️
The nefarious Art Gallery of Mississauga is holding full-fisted to its "transgender" themed activities. Here are two that have been given the seat of honor at the "Tot Spot" storytelling program.
Yesterday at the Duke of York Boulevard, just in front of the AGM, I saw a tall "darkish" "person" in a long greyish dress and black pumps, with hair dyed purple/grey and styled in a short bob. Something struck me as odd, partly the height of the person, the very long masculine-looking hands (albeit pretty skinny), the stiffness of the person's walk (women walk with a more bouncy gait even if they're tall and skinny) and the lack of communication between the person and "her" companion - an older woman who looked like she could have been a the mother, and who seemed more to be more guiding "her" than walking with "her."
I walked around a bus stop to appear to be waiting for a bus, and stood before them to have a better look. I was right, this indeed was a "transgendered."
So now that the word is out that the AGM is a "gender friendly" "place," and we will probably be seeing more of the Mississauga's so-inclined population making its pilgrimage to the shrine. After all the AGM is now becoming a center for alternative religions, where Christianity is out (and maligned) and all others are on.
I have been a stranger in a strange land.
Exodus, 2. 22
From a post on June 2018
This is an email I sent to a correspondent:
My cousin...was here the other day with her children as well as her brother and his wife.
It is interesting. She stopped her memoir as she entered Canada. I was right about her reticence to write about her Canadian "experience."
[...]
She told me she is [now] writing a "fiction.
[...]
She brought up "identity" as part of her concern in her book...
I told her that "identity" in Canada was always going to be an issue for her (and people like her, although I didn't say that).
"Ethiopia is going through some kind of renaissance. Why don't you and your family figure out a way to return? To go 'back home?' You came here through the most difficult way possible (they crossed deserts and countries before reaching Djibouti and finally coming to Canada as "refugees.")
Don't worry about culture and language. Both, especially for Ethiopians who live the culture daily, are easy to regain. Your children (they don't speak Amharic but understand it) will easily pick it up.
A country is a big thing. Everyone needs one."
She (and her brother) were listening to me intently.
I am glad I attended the dinner. I was curious to see what she would do after her "memoir."
[...]
I also said that in general that people like my father, important people ("big people" in the Amharic literal translation) could set an example and make the exodus back home. My parents have bought two houses from the inheritance house (which they sold at a fantastic price to high-rise developers) in Addis Ababa. They go back now every few months. They have invited me again in November [Note: I wrote this a year ago but it still stands for a November "invitation"] but I have declined the invitation.
They could set an example for all these destitute, culturally bereft Ethiopians by returning (to Ethiopia). A courageous exodus.
Ethiopia is undergoing a "renaissance," I told them at the dinner. "After famines, revolutions, communist governments, ethnic wars, it still stands. Ethiopia, and Ethiopians and specially the Amhara, are resilient. It has withstood incursions and invasions through the centuries. The Amhara are still Amhara. Ethiopia is still Ethiopia. You could be part of this renaissance."
My father was quiet but I could see that he was stunned. He didn't expect me to say these things openly, although he knows my views.
I didn't plan this either. It was as though I HAD to do this. And I'm glad I followed this direction.
My cousins left without rancor or ill-feelings. I have told the truth, and they know it.
Interestingly, the last part I said, "Ethiopia, and Ethiopians and specially the Amhara, is resilient," is almost a direct quote from what her father said to them as they started their journey across the desert, which she discusses in her interview with the CBC. I hadn't listened to this part of the interview until today.
She says about her father (my father's now deceased brother):
He grew up hearing about Ethiopians defeating a common enemy and keeping Ethiopia independent for centuries. Ethiopians were very proud people then and I'm sure they still are. So he has that in him. This desert wasn't going to defeat him. He's done it. His ancestors have done it before. And that kept us very strong, because he was 100 per cent sure we would make it.
I am simply telling her to make that journey in reverse, so much easier now that they have so much more than those clothes on their backs when they crossed that desert.
