Global gypsy

Growing up in Mumbai was an interesting experience. I loved it when i was in Dahisar and hated it when i was in Thane. But i did enjoy growing up there and thus hindi became my first language. I have a love hate relationship with Marathi but i am a little bit of Mumbaikar.

Chennai was a culture shock at first but it made me write a beautiful blog. I found tamil people narrow minded too but did meet some nice people. At the end, I know that this is not the city I wanted to live in. So much so that I started listening to hindi songs and I couldn't take too much of Tamil anymore. I became aware of my North Indianness for the first time and was even thankful that I never grew up here.

Bangalore is a beautiful city and I finally felt myself there. It has a good mix of north Indian-ness and south Indian-ness. I did meet some stupid people like bus conductors and rickshaw drivers. But overall this is a good city with some nice people.

Toronto was a different type of culture shock where I saw women enjoying themselves. Its a female paradise. And I wanted to be part of it. But I keep getting lost in my identity crisis here every now and then. I have to redefine myself every now and then to ensure that I don't get lost. I do feel alone here sometimes but life still goes on.

Of Canuck Relationships and preferences

When I came to Canada I was under the impression that Indian women are highly regarded and  sought after in Canada because they are well educated, cultured, have good culinary skills...self boasting .. I know :). But I was in for a surprise..... I came to know that white guys don’t really give a second look to Indian girls. Guys who pursue Indian women are mostly from the Caribbean :)Now I know why i like Chris Gayle....

I remember the first time I went for lunch with my colleagues in Toronto. One woman announced that she recently got divorced. And with that conversation I found out that all the women at the table were divorced with the exception of me and another girl whose fiancee backed off before the wedding. That conversation scared me on the whole relationship aspect in this part of the world. Couple of unmarried guys i worked with told me that they have no intention of marrying because of the fear of paying huge alimonies.

Things I realized after moving to Toronto

In the last four years, almost everyday was a new learning. Even today, I realize some things I didn't know before. So here is the list I recollect.

1. Snow and sunlight mirage: I landed in Toronto in the month of February, amidst snow. The first few days was spent admiring snow before I started hating it.. :) It still baffles me on how it can be sunny outside like 30 Degree Celsius and that the sun will melt down the snow at any moment. But when you set foot out it suddenly feels like -30. It looks sunny but doesn't feel sunny at all.

2. Everything is costly: From milk to vegetables and beyond everything is soooo costly. And Canada is a place where vegetables are costlier than meat.... This was hard for me to wrap around my head first. But then I guessed that farming is done only in the 6 months of summer and rest of the year everything is imported.