Vedasri Siddamsetty

Just as we sat lapping up some atrociously delicious fare from the ice cream store of Ghirardelli my father read out a news pop-up that claimed dark chocolate and chocolate makers included lead and cadmium in their very popular creations. Lead and cadmium levels could seriously impair human function the study claimed. At the same time, I was reading a book by Gabor Mate that says that there is nothing carcinogenic, but it’s all about how everybody reacts to the element that they are exposed to. While some people could develop cancer when exposed to certain chemicals, others could simply move on without even feeling it a wee bit. The reasons for reaction of course are plenty and could be accentuated through stress that affects hormones more than genetics and hence affects the human body. Mate says that non-smokers have lung cancer since the permutations and combinations for mutations are plenty.

But when industry makers add metals that are better left out of the human body it is deeply hurting, as if chocolate did not hurt enough already! It’s probably a motion to give up the food of the Gods, as how much research can one do or when one can do or then do the research and be assured of what one is putting into the body. The option of course is to banish those stresses away, in fact, listen up to them so that they can leave and then be open to all that the world throws at you, metal or not. The plastics that have entered our cells are tough enough to remove, and then we complain of plastic beauty. Nature has all the answers they say and as long we are in tune with nature we are good, but then lead and cadmium are natural too, and therein lies the irony.

But yes, I’d like lead and cadmium to be on the periodic table rather than my tummy if you please!

https://www.asyousow.org/environmental-health/toxic-enforcement/toxic-chocolate

When I came back from Magic Kingdom I came back with a quote stuck in my head, it was Walt Disney’s “If you can dream it, you can do it”. And several years later, precisely 23, a lot more have found their way into my head, and I’d like to share them here, here they go!

If you can dream it you can do it.

-Walt Disney

Laughter is timeless, Imagination has no age, and dreams are forever.

-Walt Disney

I never look back darling. It distracts me from the Now!

– Edna Mode from the Incredibles

Dreams only exist to be made to come true.

-Walt Disney

There comes a day when you look around and realize happiness is where you are.

-Moana

The very things that hold you down are going to lift you up.

-Timothy mouse in Dumbo

Oh Minnie, youre the only music that I’ll ever need.

-Mickey Mouse

Always let your conscience be your guide.

-Jimmy Cricket

Whenever I am afraid, I tell myself I am not afriad.

-The piglet

When something is too hard, there is always another way.

-Dory of Finding Nemo

Its kind of fun to do the impossible

-Minnie Mouse

Life is a journey to be experienced, not a problem to be solved

-Pooh

All it takes is faith, trust and a little bit of Pixie dust.

-Peter Pan

Some people are worth melting for

-Olaf in Frozen

Ohana means family. Family means no one is left behind.

-Lilo & Stitch

In every job that must be done, there is an element of fun.

-Mary Poppins

Happiness is the richest thing we will ever own.

-Donald Duck

Think happy thoughts.

-Peter Pan

Imagination is the only weapon in the war with reality

-Cheshire cat in Alice in Wonderland

A true hero isnt measured by the size of his strength but the strength of his heart.

-Hercules

Remember youre the one who can fill the world with sunshine

-Snow white

I want much more than this provincial life.

-Belle

You are bonkers! Ill tell you a secret all the best people are!

-Alice

When life gets you down do you know what you gotta do? Just keep swimming!

-Dory

And swimming is what I plan to do. Thank you Dory!!

It is a seven-letter word, beginning with an O and ending with an O and it has land in it. Have you guessed it already or must I spell it for you? Ah well then, it is Orlando! And needless to say Mr Walt Disney has a huge hand in this, and America is known best for it, entertainment and the business of Happiness. No I am not talking about the content happy, not the peaceful happy, not the marvelous happy, not the satisfied happy, not the altruistic happy, I am talking about the happy happy. Orlando is the happiest place in the world with all its gazillion theme parks, its perfect weather, not too hot, not too cold, the winds of fortune and a story telling quality that results from an imagination set wild. This was my third time in Orlando and I have loved it just the same. It never ever disappoints and I wish the theme parks business never goes out of style, I may even buy some stock to make sure it has a few more takers at the stock market atleast. The world of magic that Disney started with Mickey and his friends, I personally love and vibe with the charm, grace and optimism of Minnie, getting us to believe in fairy tales, is taking on in its own way with Harry Potter, the Marvel super heros and when Universal walks in Disney’s footsteps one is happy that this trend is here to stay. Checking oneself into one of these parks is like literally gifting oneself a day of happiness. I couldn’t help but feel so very happy, no it isnt always internal, happiness can be manufactured and it certainly is contagious. And it is most evident in the world that started it all, the Magic Kingdom!

This would be Disney’s greatest gift to the world, though they do their bit in every piece of the pie, the online streaming, the merchandise, the production of movies, but it is here that they literally collaborate with even their main competitors to bring out the best to the average park goer, no wonder most of the people I met there and struck up long conversations with, mostly Brazilians speaking Portuguese with alacrity and having kids in tow, come in year after year, sometimes 35 times a year, to have a good time. If that is your purpose in life then I would recommend the annual pass tickets for all the very many years you have left! I am a disney child, in the 90s just having discovered language I first read the disney fairy tales, graduating to their kid literature, their young adult fiction, and now science fiction as I cover a third of my life. I pretended to be Belle from Beauty and the Beast, why I even was Belle at my own birthday party, sang along to all the Disney songs, flew on the magic carpet with Alladin, and set my imagination on fire as I read, I have also watched all the Disney movies, in rapt attention. When the fireworks come on and the chant is now go home and make your dreams come true, I believe what I am told, that we can all make our dreams come true. Walt Disney’s quote that stayed with me from my second trip in 2000 was that if you can dream it you can do it, well the manifestation experts say that today, and manifesting is trendy today, but Disney had covered it long before. The park is marvelous the attention to detail is so very comforting, and the rides well they are the bursts of happiness.

The magic of Disney is lead forth by Universal too, with their Islands of Adventure and their theme park with the best of the rides, not to forget the Harry Potter world. I once was a major potterhead, immersing myself into all the stories all through school, but time had me forgetting so many details, yet Lumos and Stupefy came to me and the spell of Patronus. In the Harry Potter world the charm comes alive especially at Olivander’s wand shop where the wand supposedly chooses you. The Diagon Alley, the train ride at Kings Cross and the Hogsmeade village were so believable, yet Hogsmeade my favorite. Stepping into your favorite piece of fiction is somehow a dream coming true. My favorite Hagrid had a ride to his credit but the waiting time even with an express pass kept me waiting! The beauty of the Harry Potter world, the magic it has is just the magic of the fairy tales going strong even in the 21st century! And when they add food to the mix, the magic just gets into your system, am talking of the butter beer and the butter beer icecream, just so right to be had in that world. The Gringotts bank and the Hippogruff rides make the magic real, just as so many others. The minions and the transformers had my little munchkin transfixed. There are plenty of parks by Disney and Universal, not to forget the Lego land and all else. Yet this magical land with Disney Springs and all the allied locations has Mickey and his friends accompanying them everywhere. After a day of Jurassic world, Harry Potter, Minions, Transformers when we stepped into the Popeye ride we came out soaking wet, to the bone and for the first time ever stepped into a person dryer and boy that was fun!

Epcot is so very cerebral with its educational rides and has always been a go-to especially as they always have something new up their sleeve. All fun while teaching the laws of the land, if not those of physics, chemistry and some biology. Everything in epcot is my favorite as they marry science with the world of travel. The world pavilions bring the best of every country around a man-made lake that is also the background for the most spectacular fireworks at the end of the night. The Japanese pavilion has a the best vantage point with the red Torii framing the Epcot ball, the geodesic dome, (EPCOT stands for Experimental Prototype for the Community of Tomorrow) showing off all that the park has to offer, yet the French pavilion is undoubtedly the most snazzy with the Eiffel tower standing out. I am biased to France, Air France is the only airline in the world that offers Hot chocolate along with coffee and tea, it is the birthplace of Belle, the place of voule vous, Napolean and ofcourse Pain au chocolat! But yes also the place of the Seine, of drinkable water from every tap, of the book store Shakespeare and Company, of Monet, of Art Deco and this pavilion does it all to capture the best of France! The Guardians of the Galaxy ride, a brand new one at Epcot is the funnest ever and will have me busy watching the trilogy as I finish this post. Wonder what kept me away. Like I said, a trip to Epcot always gives me homework. The other one being the show Down to Earth. Phew! For the curious, time is never enough!!

But my favorite park to this day is and probably will always remain the Magic Kingdom. While Mickey handles all his friends very dearly, Donald is at his grumpiest best, Goofy is well just happy and Minnie is her stylish best, she is my favorite with her poodle Fifi and polka dots, (Figaro her cat was incidentally Walt Disney’s favorite character, who’s so very cute too!), Disney has kept all of that and come ahead with fairytales from every country, a trend they are still winning at with Frozen from Norway, Coco from Mexico and Moana from Hawaii, in case you haven’t guessed I am totally crushing on Moana at the moment! But moving beyond all the fairy tales Disney has made one solid leap with their latest ride of TRON. As I am into science fiction now, Passengers the movie began the trend for me, yet this story of TRON is as intriguing as the ride. Even if the story is incoherent and gets the critics talking, the latest ride at the Magic Kingdom, that of Tron will silence anyone! Sitting on the light cycle or the motorbike, it is stunning with visuals, and the ride up to the ride is so very thrilling. All that build-up, with ominous music and very fancy interiors, made me wary of the ride, but the ride is anything but wary, so very enjoyable that sitting on a bike kind of a way. The harness holds one from behind, the whole experience utterly futuristic. Watching others on the ride trunk up my heart beat but being on the ride was not scary at all. The future may well be the place to be, to aspire to be but on the rides and at the Magic Kingdom, the present may well be the only place worth being. And the most delightful and relevant experience of them all probably came from the Laugh Floor of Monsters Inc, as the audience laughed the characters from Monsters Inc showed a battery that charges. I for one, feel recharged laughing and that makes this magical science so true for me.

When my boy said Have fun guys to the folks ahead of us at the Space Mountain ride in Disney’s Magic Kingdom, in a parlance we don’t often use, I realised that America rubs off onto us and onto the world with every single move of it. I sure hope its unbridled confidence and belief in itself rubs onto me. The founding fathers did something really right with it from the very beginning. Into its 3rd century as a country, they booted the British first and long before many others with their landmark Boston Tea Party and becoming the Land of Opportunity. What I really like about the country at large is their fearlessness to fail, dropping out of college is normal, as is marching to the beat of your own drum, if not gun, yet it is the kindest country to entrepreneurs, that allows more that ever facilitates thinking beyond, getting on with the necessities through a button life and going beyond the toils of living, not holding back to customs and traditions, one that factors in a strange mix of soaring to the skies yet having a social welfare net. Talk of the benefits of early realizations I say. We’re awesome! Here’s a toast to the land of Chipotle, Apple, Instagram, WordPress, Disney, New York, the Skyscraper, Lincoln, Twain, Franklin, Gatsby, and hence Fitzgerald, Two Faced, Shea Moisture, Costco, Harvard, Boston, Public Libraries, Ihop, Ann Taylor, Kate Spade, Tory Burch, Micheal Kors, Facebook, Whatsapp, NASA, Marvel, Ironman, Spiderman, Batman, Times Square, Ghirardelli (though I may have to rethink chocolate, that’s for another post though), Amika, American Express, Starbucks, Amazon, Sheila G’s Brownie Brittle, Malin & Goetz, Tiffanys, the MOMA, Warhol, Frank Llyod Wright and lots more. With all that love for the United States of America, I constantly wonder why life never planted me there. I dream of living in Boston, as a professor at Harvard, if not building that skyscraper in New York or having my latest book a bestseller at Strand. God Bless you America, you are always great to me! You are the Happiest Place in the World, my favorite too!

How can you be so splendid Miami? So splendid that it could actually hurt. Oh well I am talking of the Miami beach specifically, and more specifically the Jelly fish in the waters of the Atlantic that kisses the shores of the city of Miami, a younger more vivacious Manhattan, with sunshine all the year round! Sounds like a dream city? Well cause it totally is. Maimed by a jellyfish while unabashedly swimming in the waters, well that’s quite another story, but to be honest, seeing jellyfish so up close is splendid to say the least. Its blush pink head swimming through the sea much like a sheet of transluscent fabric bumbling along in broad strokes, going up or down as it pleases!

While not frolicking on the umpteen beaches of Miami, that is a lot that happens in its 200-odd perpendicular streets to its beaches, starting from Art Deco buildings that could impress even the grumpiest of the lot, to the swanky condominiums and hotels, some trump and others bump, to the beautiful Miami beach homes, the city is steeped in design. The latest hotspot for millionaires and their swanky mansions, the pride of Miami as a design destination and its offering of the sun and sand makes it super fun. In fact its main Lincoln street was redesigned in 1960 by architect Morris Lapidus who pedestrianized it and famously said that an automobile never bought anything! For a country that is insanely bound by the automobile I have great respect and admiration for any city in the United States that shuns the automobile and makes it irrelevant, hence the love for New York City and its likes. The art deco style of Miami is more rooted and ground levelled unlike in NYC where the skyscrapers don the same vocabulary in building construction. An ode to the Art Deco in every form, at one point I felt like I stepped into a page of the Great Gatsby and what a page it would be to step into!

The candy floss nature and the pop of color in Miami is so contagious that even the skies of Miami turn pink, turquoise and all else! The residents of this fun city do not shy off from painting their buildings in all shades of pastel and agains the gorgeous clear blue skies its a winning stroke for sure. Why even the life guard stations are candy-flossed and seem fun yet when their more important job is to put out flags warning the beach bums and occassionally even stepping in to rescue. I was told upon being bitten by the jellyfish that the South Beach was cleared the previous day due to a shark visit! The beach here is not clearly for the faint-hearted. The city though could be, a breezy balm in today’s age with adorable colors and Art Deco proportions. The city is also a starting point of many cruises especially those to the Caribbean, and here in the Miami harbor we spotted over 11 cruise ships in line, all furnished with roller-coaster slides from the upper-most deck to the lower decks, the minimalist ships were from Germany while the most atrociously luxurious one was hand down the Royal Carribean! Its a sight. I would love to hit the Carribean though Vishwa, my friend sold Hawaii to me on this trip, going to Hawaii is going to paradise literally she emphasizes. Miami may be close I think.

The skyline of Miami is not too different from Manhattan, yet these wondrous marvels grace the sky nimbly and are pretty spaced out to let in some sunshine. In the sunshine state of the United States, the state of Florida, Miami is the city of sunshine. I could live here in spite of all its vice, for it has color, design, the beach and most importantly the sun! If you’re one to want the beach and the mall in the same zip code, Miami is the place to be, with the Bahamas just a hop away or probably a ship ride away its all fun. That said human trafficking is a serious concern (out of many others) in Miami and I learnt the codes or hand signals for human trafficking through posters stuck everywhere but more so on the female restrooms. I certainly hope that is one concern that Miami breezes through, cause it is the best otherwise! The party scene in Miami is rave too, though we didnt want to hit the party scene, the remnants were quite obvious. Early morning at the beach we spotted many party animals being woken up the first rays of the sun on the beach!

The southern most tip of the continental United States is also here in the State of Florida, a short distance from the city of Miami called Key West. An island city just 90 miles north of Cuba, the influence is thus untenable. The bluest of blue skies and the bluest of blue waters, the high way connected to Key west is endowned with mansions, beach resorts and people ferrying their yachts or boats through their cars. It is exceedingly beautiful to drive up to key west and enjoy sunshine, or at times hurricanes I am told. The food’s plenty like most beach resorts, and the relaxation is a lot. While the country is a place for the automobile and most roads the same, this drive to Key West was my favorite of them all. Not one who loves the road, but this one was incredibly beautiful and the bridges that go up and down make for an exhilarating experience, planet earth is a blue planet, the sky is blue, the waters are blue, much for a reason. Though in the backest seat of the car viewing this blue through a portal, blue is the color that is excessively relaxing and perhaps that is the way to live life right, relaxingly, at least in the mind. While Miami is best seen in an open-top blue Lamborghini, it is best felt sitting on the beach with the wind in my hair, playing kabaddi with the ocean is a fun way to be, and all the adverts that come to one through the sailing ships and the plane lead waves, are just the right ingredients to tell oneself that pop is popular for a reason and fun can be funny too for a season!

I am safe, for not all maimes turn one into a mime, for dolphins are immune to jellyfish stings, yet looking for signs of turning super human! (Well blame that on all the marvel and magic that would come by me in the next few days or posts that I was and you will be subjected to!)

The city of Montreal is drenched in French and thus in all things beautiful. The unquestionable lurking of art in every corner is morely supplanted by pretty streets that could put even the streets of Paris to shame. And their Notre Dame, a 1:1 replica os the original one in the city of lights is a beauty to reckon with, now with its original having gone up in flames. Such a pity I couldn’t speak French I thought, and without having any french to pardon we settled into our hotel across the Notre Dame marvelling at its beauty and the Place’ d Armes that it is lurched on. As we walked the streets of Montreal after 5 days in Toronto, the clean surrounds of Toronto became increasingly clear, well with art there tends to be a mess, or what else can I say! Sitting jet-lagged halfway across the world now in Bengaluru, even Montreal seems very clean now, but then in comparison to Toronto, its a lot earthy that the clean, clean Toronto. But the soul of Montreal is unmissable, it is indeed extremely beautiful and with it’s French feels extremely charming.

The Notre Dame was built in the 1800s by a protestant architect who is said to have turned Catholic by the end of the construction. The technology was a lot more developed that when the original was built yet the younger Notre Dame is just as beautiful, it may be missing the Seine, there is the St Lawrence, but then the visuals of the streets that surround the Notre Dame more than make up for it. In city planning function is alluded to more often than form, but only if we could garner up as much or even more importance to form we will be living not just in luxury but a thing of beauty. Montreal is extremely beautiful as it feels like one of the cities that pays attention to its form. Lined with art galleries and pretty cafes, the streets of old Montreal doesnt feel real, right from a story book, yet it is gorgeous. The kiosks that line the main plazas also have artists sketching up the city’s frames, turns out every side you look has a visual worth capturing. On the other side the cruise ships dock as its passengers get out for a walk in the streets of this beautiful city. We were entertained in the Place Jacques Cartier with scrumptious Italian food, kiosks that bring in Paris and a view of the new Montreal that is dotted by glitzy skyscrapers of the future.

The Centaur theatre, the village, the Museum of Illusions are other fun spots while gallivanting in Old Montreal, the atmosphere buzzing with artists and art aficionados alike make the city absolutely electric. In the province of Quebec, a stone’s throw from the capital city of Ottawa, Montreal has the best of Canada with a bit of France thrown in and the potion that this cauldron holds is alarmingly wonderful. While the Notre Dame is also very close to China town (now which city can escape from its Chinatown!), the momos folded up here especially in Soup and Sammi is just the best perhaps in the world. When you are eating piping hot momos as the snow flurries around you, looking onto a Notre Dame in french-speaking Montreal, you realise that the world is indeed flat or it has been flattened. The coming of the jet has opened up planet like never before but this city was built in the times of the pirates and the ships and hence its development would have been slow and organic, feted out in good time, the infusions layering on over time making it so very real.

The next morning as we made our way to the St Joseph’s oratory of Mount Royal we were treated to views of the city that would ring a bell. The beautiful church with its wrought iron fences all twisted in pain, probably the pain that Jesus felt nailed at the cross, had devout Christians praying, in all earnest. The modern church with it’s pipe organs and high vaulted roofs bring the massiveness and other wordlyness of religion into the picture. Looking down from the steps of the oratory we view the magnificient University of Notre Dame laid out in neat lines with all the Tim Horton’s muddled into it’s structure. A lot of Indians are seen and felt in this country, studying, working, finding opportunity in a country that gives them all the makings of a great life and perhaps good health. The book I was reading then – The Body says No by Gabor Mate refers to a lot of studies conducted at the University of Toronto, at the University of Notre Dame and all other universities of Canada and I can see how sitting in this beautiful country with great weather for half a year how the minds intelligence is magnified. When the conditions are tough or the land and mind are allowed to fallow, genius is born. What I mean to say is that the break that nature bestows on people with the extreme change of weather, or on land, the trees shed their leaves, the land lies fallow taking a break from living or doing and simply being allows a fine productivity. The Mount Royal with its coulorful trees in the fall and its stunning skyline is a ballet between the beauty of nature and the beauty of the human mind, that can create in all glory. My favorite season is the summer, but then fall is the season to be, to reflect and to take in beauty on orange, as the fall fairy comes out lighting up the temperate forests across the world.

As the sun set and the La Metropole lights up my brother drove us to yet another marvel of the architectural world, the Habitat 67, built for the world expo that Montreal hosted in 1967. The fifteen feet cube is used in various numbers, molded together to create a habitat for the humans, a successful experiment of building using only concrete, that is strengthened to have living spaces of sleeping, dining and living in various compositions to allow for a form that is both delightful and light. The signages all across the road of this building are dotted by do not stop, considering the number of people slowing down to take in this wonder. As I stepped into the lawns to cut a picture the speakers blared out warnings of this building being a private property. With no fence, we just cannot know what is the public sidewalk and what is the private domain, the boundaries are blurred. The building has the most incredible view of the Montreal skyline across the river St Lawrence. Beautiful buildings should be allowed to view, atleast for architects! I heard Moshe Safdie, its architect, talk about his work at the World Architecture Festival in Singapore in 2012, but seeing it in real, the effect is totally something else.

A brief stop at the Olympic village, Montreal is also the city that hosted the summer Olympics in 1976, makes one really wonder at all the feathers this city has in its cap, the retractable stadium and its swimming stadium at the Olympic village had me all heart, and the city had me all heart and soul. Decidedly one of the most beautiful cities in the world, wit art at every corner and laughter every turn, Montreal’s soul and its buzzing electricity, makes it charming, most loved all the same, and when it can serve up the best vegetarian dumplings and that too by the dozen, it’s winning, hands down!

The Notre Dame in Paris met with a rather fiery end as its roof burnt down just four years ago. But it’s exact replica built over seven hundred years later lives on in the once French occupied territories of Quebec in the city of Montréal, though without the picturesque Seine running by its side. Instead perched on the Place de Armes this building is yet furnished with the famous rose windows and the gothic arches that it’s predecessor was famous for. Today a beautiful show in stunning light, sound and visuals is presented with the insides of the Notre Dame as the backdrop. When light is accompanied by sound the effect is multifold. As Jesus is born the world hears his heart beat, the seasons change, fire is replaced by water, the winds blow out the fall leaves and finally the heavens descend. The sight is one to behold. As the candles are lit and the ominous stage set, one is welcomed to experience the part of Christianity that seeks to elevate the soul. A tremendous feat in the 1100s, but one that was again repeated across the Atlantic in the 1800s and that is the beauty of faith, the faith in Notre Dame.

The Notre Dame was to house 8000 worshippers and be the most beautiful church in North America, it sure still is. And in a location covered in snow for half the year, the construction of the church was completed in a record 35 months! And interestingly the architect chosen was a Protestant who converted to Catholicism by the end of the church’s construction. The entire space is the gothic cathedral, exactly like the one that shot up in flames in Paris, but captures its essence extremely well. The beautiful cathedral is all goth in a time that is not goth at all. And though it’s bearings are from a dark time of the past, its present is very much alive and real, much like the beauty of today, wearing it’s past very very lightly. The interiors are guilded and remind one of the renaissance, while the light and sound show with winning lasers on the murals and the Christ orchestrated along with the music transport one into the heavens and back. The candles are lit, we still pay and pray or rather pay to pray, yet sitting in front of the enactments from the Bible are gorgeous never the less.

Niagara Falls and as it does it rises it’s beholder to heights unparalleled. It offers views like no place else on the world and feels like little else. From the Canadian side the falls seem like just another place, seem so incidental but while walking up the Bridal Veil falls present themselves first up and lead one onto the Horse shoe falls curvy and splendid. The sights on the American side then seem like little when the whole deal is seen on the other side. The sound of water is deeply relaxing and a water fall could well be a scene of utter delight if not simply a matter of calm senses. On the Canadian side of the falls there is the viewing deck that takes one up close to watch the falls from the side and front while portals behind the falls bring one really up close to the backside of the falls where the mist dances about and give one a beautiful sight that is both unforgettable and deeply moving. Like all natural beauty, it incites undoubtedly a feeling like nothing else.

If Niagara Falls and the whirlpool is a beauty, the town Niagara-on-the-lake is a spectacle. The city that is surrounded by wineries and grape farms, seems turned back in time with its architecture, it’s theatre and its shops. Cows the ice cream shop was serving up delicious ice creams and it’s neighbor the Hat shop had be pretty amused with its array of hats, the Niagara apothecary though shut when we visited was the first pharmacy in Canada. It’s leanings towards the essential oils hence the essentials of life are unmistakable. The clock tower and the administrative buildings swathed in brick and wrought iron cut pretty pictures that are well balanced by the trees on fire in the fall. The fall fairy was working her magic in full swing bestowing us with bewitching views. The views of the city of Toronto amidst the clouds are a winning feature of the Niagara-on-the-lake.

Living in full tech, but so close to nature and in proximity to the historical neighbourhoods makes the town very popular for bnbs that facilitate one to enjoy the times gone by. As history has it, the entire town was burnt down in fire and in the 1850s, it rose like a phoenix out of its ashes and has been maintained thus since. A stunning piece of man-made beauty amidst all of Nature’s glory. A walk in the park, a lick of some ice cream, a hat on the head, a theatrical show for the senses, and one has all the ingredients one needs for being touched by beauty. The falls are never shut and they uplift one plenty with their being and their surrounding. All that we wish and pray for, much manifest at our very best, yet we can never be a visionary to what nature at its best can bring forth for us. All we can do is hope to be inspired and surprised by nature, by the universe, by life and enjoy the newness of people and of experiences. Our imagination can be vastly triumphed by our faith, if only we let it. And while advancement may be a recipe for the future, being still in the moment may well be all we need, for the moment is our life and only when we let it be we be.

Tucked away in the Northern Hemisphere, on one of the Great Lakes, Lake Ontario is the city that boasts of towering skyscraper, ample alleys, generous sidewalks and parks for every age. While the people seem to adore peace and quiet in general, I couldn’t help adoring the pretty dogs that came out for a walk every other turn, all manicures and styled no less. The city that is hinged on parallel roads and bustling intersections comes alive mostly when the sun is out and the weather warm, else the only places one may bump into people is a warm Tim Hortons right around every corner. The towering feature visible from every turn though is the CN tower that towers over the city and offers 360 degree panoramic views across the city. The old is vastly enveloped by the new and brick has long been eclipsed by the glint and gleam of steel and glass. Yet the most striking feature of Toronto is its cleanliness. It’s only much later when I was met with by homeless people at the Toronto public library carrying their entire belongings in a pushcart and sitting reading on the computers at the Toronto commons that a little filth of the city showed up. Poverty is inescapable even in first world countries.

While there is much to do in Toronto, summer boasts of its range of activities, while fall has one witness a spectacle and winter comes with its own charms, weather is serious business in the city and it dons different hats in its very many seasons. The Nathan Philips square is testament to all the activities the city has up its sleeve. While Meghan Markle and Prince Harry were said to have been spotted on Yonge street and Bloor streets during their dating days, the shops that line these streets have their A-game on and bring high street fashion onto the street quite literally. Condominium living and working downtown have their perks with walking to work very much a possibility if not the plethora of options that include the street car or trams, subways and the good old bus. A very immigrant friendly city, the potpourri of cultures is very much visible. More so in the University part of the city, the parts of the colleges in the city, much a part of the main city, a walk away from downtown at times. The fun university vibes are then felt in the climes. Outdoor activities are not just appreciated it seems vastly cherished, ofcourse when the weather permits!

The greater Toronto area that include precincts like Brampton and other suburbs is not as glitzy but so endearing, the suburbs with their brick building, stone facades and expansive lawns bring forth the country living feels bring one yet so close to the happenings of a major city. The mighty Costco also finds its way into the suburbs where cost and value meet with pride. The city has its ballet, it’s sport, it’s art, it’s culture while the suburbs quietly power the city working in the background but ever so delightfully that the city never loses its shine. As Indians, finding food, finding our tribe and our fit was not hard at all in a city that is a lot like New York but ofcourse not New York. The suburbs have some beautiful homes all fitted with everything the owners could ever dream of in a dream house. While the gardening lovers would have a few pots in their downtown homes, the lovers of the greens could literally have a slice of the woods in their backyard. Perhaps even a bite of the fall colors in their home. Toronto’s Billy Bishop airport in downtown is greeted by ferries and a tunnel for access, adds to the diversity in the views downtown. On the 37th floor of one of the beautiful condominiums one could simply watch away in a meditative trance as the CN towers dances in colour as the sun shuts shop for the day. While most of the American sitcoms are shot in Toronto that pass off for a New York setting, the vibe may well be quite similar, with the sun high up in the sky and brighter than ever!

Now, now, now, I heard that fashion boosts confidence, at times the environment, most often the GDP, but would one ever think that fashion holds the potential of boosting health? Thats pretty much a tall claim to make and as fast fashion or even haute couture brands use the swishiest of fabrics, to make uber stylish clothes we are not to blame to be literally swished off our feet. But here’s a fact, science for sure. Every body has a frequency, for healthy humans the frequency is at 100 mHz, for the diseased a lot less and for the ill at health the value rests at lower than 100. And apparently, apparel has frequencies too. Anything above the frequency of our body’s brings peace, harmony and healing and anything less is just the thing for lowering our frequency.

So on that note, presenting to you the work of the Jewish scientist Heidi Yellen,

• Linen, made from flax – 5000 mHz
• Wool – 5000 mHz
• Organic cotton –  70 to 110 mHz
• Non-organic cotton, bleached and/or dyed – 40 to 70 mHz
• Rayon, made of wood pulp, including bamboo – up to 15
• Polyester, made from petroleum – up to 10
• Spandex, Lycra, and elastane, made from polyurethane synthetics – up to 15
• nylon, synthetic polymers – up to 15
• Silk – up to 15.  Made from silkworms just after they’ve spun themselves into a cocoon to transition into a silk moth.  Cocoons are boiled (with worms in) to unravel the fibers. 

While we are at it, here are the frequencies of emotions that are worth considering too!

• Enlightenment – 700+ Hz
• Peace – 600 Hz
• Joy – 540 Hz
• Love – 500 Hz
• Reason – 400 Hz
• Acceptance – 350 Hz
• Willingness – 310 Hz
• Neutrality – 250 Hz
• Courage – 200 Hz
• Pride – 175 Hz
• Anger – 150 Hz
• Desire – 125 Hz
• Fear – 100 Hz
• Grief – 75 Hz
• Apathy – 50 Hz
• Guilt – 30 Hz
• Shame 20 Hz

So could that equate to Linen = Enlightenment or even joy? I’d have to test this science for myself.

Delving further I did some research on our surroundings and here are the frequencies of construction materials:

• Wood – 1100 Hz
• Stone – granite is 6900 Hz while Sandstone is 8700 Hz
• Glass – 20-200 Hz
• Stainless steel – 100-200 Hz

Nature’s frequency combined is about 432Hz a frequency that when we are surrounded by helps one relax. The musical instruments at that vibrating frequency are said to be healing.

If harmony and calm float your boat, these may be points worth considering. Well even in the Bhagavad Gita, Lord Krishna extols the virtue of a calm mind. A calm temperament is the true measure of success, or as my Grandfather puts it, if you are calm you win. And when in nature you are calm and hence you win, there is a thing about nature and that is you are one of it!

All the greatest contributors to society have a routine I am told, just as I go flitting about my day full of chaos, I believe that time blocking is of the essence, also the fact that none of the self-made billionaires of merit seem to be fond of wearing watches and with that very gesture “own” their own time. Also add to that quirk the nature of avoiding any sort of decision fatigue that may arise as such from deciding on what to eat and what to wear on a daily basis. I would mostly go on my whim, or rank from the vegetable most in need of eating to decide the menu, but well that hasnt been on my plate thus far. Yet time and again we find that time blocking actually makes one more prone to getting the best out of their day. No worries I am not advocating the 5 am club, Mark Zuckerberg wakes at 8 and so do many others so waking up to me merits the sound of bird song more that the productivity bias, yet there is such a thing as circadian rhythms unless ofcourse one descends from the wolf, and that is a subject of much other discussions.

So time blocking is to set a particular time lets peg it at 30 minutes for the sake of discussion and keeping to one task in hand for all those minutes, it works on a physical basis too if not just psychological as one then can step and stretch every 30 minutes. This time blocking puts an end of time to the task and the proclivity of one finishing the task with an end time in mind really works wonders. What if the task cannot be completed in 30 minutes, like writing a novel or so, one would then be advised to break the task into bite-sized components, spread over many a day and that works too. Time blocking with a timer works best but just in case one does not want to yield to instruments of oppression a heightened awareness of one’s physical being helps in not getting just too absorbed in a task. When I would work as a full time architect or even now when I sit with drafting softwares like AutoCAD I find time literally melt away as the mode of meditation kicks in. Drafting can be super meditative just like writing this blog could be.

But for a creature of non-habit, settling down on a routine is caging and sometimes devastating. I could literally swear that my creativity comes from chaos, in my schedule, in the world, in my home or even in my head. It really helps me to not have a schedule, though research clearly suggests otherwise. Non-routine is my preferred state though years of education, and now again getting back on the treadmill of education for my son, there certainly is a routine that I have to honour time and again. However much I settle into a routine, I promptly find an excuse to shake things up a bit. This afternoon after a meeting at 3 pm shortly after lunch I realise that some time blocking is actually fantastic. For me solitary mornings with music and nature, followed by a family breakfast, site visit mornings, meeting in the afternoons, winding up with sketches and moodboards at work and then nature evenings followed by hours of reading before catching in those laboriously deep snoozes work best. What about you??

Whatever age you are and a lover of Barbie or not, the Barbie movie that has taken the world by storm is worth every dialogue in it in gold. Yes it’s a pretty world, it’s perfect and ofcourse it’s imaginary. Not to say thank goodness it replaced the baby dolls that preceded it. When the narrator says Barbie means to be whatever she wants to be it is true, that’s what the doll is all about. In a skewed world, it tries to make sense.

Greta Garwigs dialogues are so on point, shake up the imagination and whips up so much cheer that made my cheeks hurt in the first part of the movie. Barbie is a doll, she’s not a human, far from being a woman, and yes she is imaginary for she is an idea, an idea that could inspire several other ideas for generations to come. I had a field day with my Barbie dolls, her bubble bath, her long hair, her fancy clothes and her dream house. I do not know how relevant she is, I have a son so I haven’t been arm-twisted to buy dolls but I have to say that the movie is very much relevant.

The dressing is on point, the style is on point, yet the films heart is on point. When Barbie says you are beautiful to an old woman at the bus stop by 5 year old exclaimed, she should be telling her, the other way is happening. We don’t need to condition but we could know that beauty is beauty and it is alluring, yet there is heart, and when that shines skin deep matters none. There are a few dialogues from the movie, more like quotes which are a treasure, not to forget the song by Dua Lipa, Dance the Night, and Aquas remix version by Nicky Minaj which revisit the very popular numbers that we literally grew up with. My favourite color is pink, all shades of it but mostly the Barbie ones, and I perhaps maybe biased to the pink world, but Barbie has many other colors up her sleeve and so much reality that would make even the cynic-est cynic nod.

Here are some lines I loved!

Since the beginning of time, since the first little girl ever existed, there have been dolls. But the dolls were always and forever baby dolls…Which can be fun… for a while, anyway. Ask your mother. -Narrator

Humans only have one ending. Ideas live forever. -Ruth

She was discounted by Mattel because a pregnant doll was just too weird. -Narrator

It is the best day ever. So was yesterday, and so is tomorrow, and every day from now until forever. – Barbie

Barbie has a great day every day, but Ken only has a great day if Barbie looks at him. -Narrator

Yeah, because actually my job, it’s just Beach. -Ken

I would never wear heels if my feet were shaped like this. -Barbie

To be honest, when I found out the patriarchy wasn’t about horses I lost interest. -Ken

I’m a Barbie Girl, now and forever, and Thank God for that!

Also I must say, well played Mattel!