Yugadi Thoughts

Yugadi, the new year that we honour and celebrate far away from our roots.

Our routes have meandered as have the waters where we first lived: From the banks of the Saraswati to the banks of Lake Ontario, we have travelled.

And one thought reverberates in my mind: it's an honour to be with such wonderful positive energy.

I am standing in a circle with many who seek to commemorate the 25th anniversary. While we look back, I am mindful that the future belongs to the children we have brought with us. Whether born here or brought over with us, they are the bridge between who we are and who we are becoming.

The children are silent, they are respectful: they say their namaskaru, they recite the shlokas, they listen to the ipods on the long drive to the venue, they touch the Earth before they begin their koli dance. Our children are the future.

I look forward to work with our young people and my brothers and sisters so that we can archive our stories our ---  Ugdaas -Udgaas-Yadein for our children and ourselves. We remember that all the voices use unite our experiences yet allow us to retain the unique flavour of our special places.

To take an analogy of Indigenous knowledges, an endeavour like this is a narrative inukshuk, nhavein? It tells those who pass by later that I had passed this way and that I had stopped awhile to look around, watch the sunset and admire the ripples across the water. Yesterday, as every young person took their place in the front of the audience, as each dancer touched the Earth before starting their artistic performance, I was very thankful that we are together on this journey.

A little boy, dear to my heart, recited the Geeta Dhyaan that my Ajja used to recite with me every evening when I was 7. I chanted with him and went back in time. The beautiful daughters of my brothers and sisters spoke of their heart work through CORD and I felt thankful that we are raising a generation that gives back so much. A multigeneration family sang Sri Ram Jai Ram Jai Jai Ramwith joy and devotion. I met a young writer whose eyes lit up when she saw a pen in her favourite colour. These are the memories we make when we stand together.

Our children and we belong to many places. Today and forever you are in my heart.

Everytime your lives touch mine, I come back richer. Thanks for being my family. And thanks for the opportunity to stand with you as you tell your stories through the 2013 souvenir.