A Pvblic Library?

A Pvblic Library! Why was the 'u' substituted by a 'v' on the facade of Yorkville library branch at 22 Yorkville Avenue? The front desk was not sure about that so she contacted a senior staff member. It turns out that it is true for most of the historical buildings. In old English and Latin, the letter 'V' was considered sufficient for both sounds. The letter 'U' was introduced at a much later time. This is certainly an example where the past is preserved in stone.

Seicho-no-Ie – The House of Growth

I wanted to sit quietly on the backbenches and watch the whole proceedings from there. But that was not possible in a big hall filled with just eleven people. Japanese priest welcomed me and I have to introduce myself. Then in his halting English, he talked about this new age religion and philosophy. This Japan based movement was started by Dr. Masaharu Taniguchi in 1930. It combines the basic elements from Buddhism, Christianity and Shintoism (which is the ancient spiritual tradition of Japan).  Seicho-no-Ie or the house of growth puts emphasis on gratitude for nature, the family and ancestors. Above all, they believe in one universal God. This facility is located just a few steps from where I live. After watching it day after day, finally curiosity got better of me and I ventured in. 

The atmosphere inside this Japanese style wooden temple was that of calm and serenity. After the service, every one thanked and hugged me as I was some long lost friend or a family member. This was rather a strange and moving experience for me. There is such an infinite variety of human beliefs and faiths. Just a different set of believing can change one’s whole perspective about this world, life and fellow beings.

What I remember is what I am

The world begins and ends in memory;
what I remember is what I am. 

Did that blade of grass I plucked
as a boy to vibrate with my breath 

really burst the air with shrillness?
A remembered world holds truth 

and realities far clearer than echoes.
In the cupped hands of remembrance 

the thin green reed of what we are
trembles with a sound so rare. 

(Aide Memoire by Glen Sorestad from Leaving Holds Me Here: Selected Poems)

I came across this beautiful poem while riding TTC Public transport. A cultural initiative places such short verses on every TTC subway car, bus and streetcar in the city. It is a wonderful idea. Sometimes small things like that can have a profound effect on a reader.

... I would like to add to the poet that we are only alive until someone remembers us in this world. We are truly gone when the last vista about us fades away in a person's mind. On this account, being a writer, philosopher, thinker, inventor or any other kind of creative talent is a path to eternal life.

CN Tower - View from the HTO Park

View of CN Tower, its main observation deck, sky pod and edge walk as seen from the HTO Park.

View from the CN Tower

At more than 1,100 feet, CN Tower's main pod offers spectacular panoramic views of the city. Identifying various buildings and the areas of the city is a fun exercise. Here is my take on it.

On the western side, one can see up to Humer Bay and High Park. The Railway corridor on the right and Gardiner Expressway on the left are snaking through the city.

East and West Islands in the southwest. Cinesphere movie theater and Budweiser concert hall are prominent on the islands.

A cruiser yacht on Lake Ontario.

Billy Bishop Toronto City Airport and its closeup on the Center Island.

HTO Park East and Toronto Fire & Marine Station 334. The Quay Apartment complex is on the right.

Police Basin and Toronto Police Marine are on the top left. Harborfront is on the right, adjacent to HTO Park. 249 Queens Quay West apartment buildings and Radisson Admiral Hotel with its pool are on the bottom and center-left.

The Rivera Condos at 230 Queens Quay West.

Roundhouse Park and Railway Museum are on the south side of the tower.

CN Tower base and top of the Ripley's Aquarium of Canada, as seen from the glass floor.

Spadina Avenue bridge over rail corridor on the western side.

Part of the Roger Center skydome is visible at the bottom left. Canadian Broadcasting Centre is on the bottom right. Others include a number of residential and commercial towers.

The northern side of the city as seen from the tower.

Metro Hall, Canadian Broadcasting Centre (building with red and black cubes), The Ritz-Carlton hotel (just behind the small park at the bottom) and Simcoe place business center (bottom right).

Simcoe Park is just north of the tower. The "mountain", an aluminum sculpture by British artist Anish Kapoor is also visible in the center.

Hyatt Regency and InterContinental Hotels are Just north and northeast of the tower respectively.

Art Gallery of Ontario and  OCAD (Ontario College of Art and Design University) are a little bit further north of the tower. OCAD can be identified by its legs like structure on the right. Grange Park is in the middle. The tall building on the left is Gallery Towers apartment building, I think.

Empire Plaza and One University Apartments on the east side of the tower.

Eastside of the city. Union Station is on the bottom right with Hotel Fairmont Royal York in its front. The skyscrapers behind those form the core of the financial district. These include Royal Bank Plaza (shiny golden building on the right),  TD Canada Trust Tower, Bay Wellington Tower, Bank of Montreal building (tall white building in the center),  and Toronto Dominion Center among others.

A day in ROM

Main entrance – The Crystal building

Last time when I was in Toronto, I visited the Royal Ontario Museum (ROM) twice. But still, there was so much to see and discover. This time I arrived early in the morning and tried to cover the whole museum in a day. A lot has changed in the past three years. New collections have been added and the old ones have been rearranged. Despite all the effort, when closing time was announced in the evening, nearly half a floor was still there to be explored and my knee joint pain was off the charts.

A huge skeleton of Futalognkosaurus now adorns the main lobby. This tongue-twisting name actually means “giant chief lizard”. Despite their imposing structures, these were plant-eating Sauropods dinosaurs. I don’t need to tell you that nowadays even pre-school children know all about Sauropods. These are at number three in favorite dino list by my little nephew Shaheer after T-Rex and Triceratops.

 Chinese, Korean and Japanese civilization sections are at ground level.

Mithras was a god of light, truth and promised word in Persian Zoroastrianism.

To me, visiting a museum is relevant and quite a humbling experience on two accounts. One, its natural history sections tell us that human life and civilization covers just a tiny bit when measured against the immensity of time on this planet. Secondly, relics from different civilization are a testament to the fact that ours is just one of the many possible ways of being. Names of once-powerful gods and god-like rules are now just restricted to few references in books and displays.

Islamic and Middle Eastern sections are at level 3. This is a kind of sight that made our Allama Iqbal quite depressed actually when he was visiting Europe. Nevertheless, I would like to differ with him at this point. I think that these artifacts are much better preserved and cared for here than in the native countries.

A section on the same level is devoted to Gandhara Civilization. According to museum plaque, most of the works were purchased in the 1930s by the first director of the museum, from a single dealer in Peshawar named Ram Das.

Flight - Nature section

This T-Rex doesn't seem too happy about this photo op with the author.

It is said that Rome was not built in a day. On the same note, this ROM also needs more than a day, may be a full month to be explored in totality. I plan to buy its annual membership on the next visit.