Recently visited the home of one of our patients – an old lady – 89 years old – undergoing dialysis.  She is the widow of an Indian Soldier who retired in 1977.

Tried doing the Jeevan Praman – a biometric enabled digital service for Indian pensioners by capturing her fingerprint. I tried all her ten fingers three times. It always gave an error –Biometric Data did not match!

The lady had her fingerprints registered on the Aadhar system 15 years ago – with age her fingerprints did not change – it does not change for any humans.

It becomes difficult to capture our fingerprints as we age. This is because the skin loses elasticity with age, and the patterns become less prominent due to the thickening of ridges and Valleys (furrows.) The pores of our skin also become less lubricated, which affects the surface of our fingertips.

A permanent scar could alter someone’s fingerprint. There are also specific jobs that can impact fingerprints – construction workers, especially bricklayers and people who wash dishes by hand and people who work with chemicals such as calcium oxide. This is temporary, and once they stop these activities, the ridges grow back.

Certain skin diseases can temporarily alter fingerprints.  Damaged skin – due to burns or corrosion due to chemical interaction – can reproduce cells to form fingerprints exactly as they were before they were damaged unless the cut penetrates the dermis – the inner layer of the two main layers of our skin.

A suggested method to fingerprint for the senior citizens is by Milking the Finger – to raise the fingerprint ridges prior to printing. This technique involves applying pressure or rubbing the fingers in a downward motion from palm to fingertip.  Applying some natural oils may help your finger’s ridges be more visible.  For better results, choose a ring finger or middle finger of the non-dominant hand.

A study published in the July 14, 2015, edition of Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences found fingerprint identification becomes less reliable as the time interval between two sets of prints being taken increases, which suggests that the ridges on a person’s fingertips may change slightly over the course of a person’s life.  That is why one must update one’s biometrics.

Some criminals intentionally alter their fingerprints, sometimes on their own and occasionally with the help of medical professionals. These alterations distort their usual fingerprint pattern and make it difficult to identify those fingerprints. The mutilation include cutting lines into the skin, vertically or in a zig-zag pattern, in an attempt to both remove portions of the fingerprint and cause the skin to heal in a fashion which overlaps the old print and alters it significantly. They have also been known to burn their fingerprints using both heat and chemical sources. The intention here is to scar or entirely destroy the fingerprint and prevent identification.

A question came up – Can a dead person’s fingerprint be used for biometrics?

A recently dead one, whose body is well preserved — it may work. One may have to forcibly straighten the fingers stiffened from rigor mortise. It becomes a lot more difficult with a corpse that has undergone some degree of decomposition or desiccation or has soaked in water so that the skin has softened.

Medical examiners can surgically remove a dead person’s hands or fingers and send them to a lab where more advanced techniques can be employed. For skin that’s badly deteriorated, it may be possible to use silicone putty to make a casting that captures the detail of the fingerprint ridges. Those impressions can then be photographed and used in identification.

In a study published Nov. 5, 2013, in GMS Interdisciplinary Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery DGPW, researchers looked at the effectiveness of a technique called thanatopractical processing, in which fluid is extracted from other parts of a body’s remains and used to restore tenseness and volume to the fingers to fatten them for printing.

How long do fingerprints remain usable? There isn’t a lot of research on that subject. A study published in December 22, 2016, in IEEE Xplore and described in a 2017 USA Today article, usable biometric data has been obtained from corpses dead for up to four days in warm weather and as long as two months in winter.

Anil Jain, a professor of computer science at Michigan State University and expert on biometric technology says that a rotting body changes shape, including the digits, which distorts the fingerprints. How fast the body rots depend on where it was found or stored.  As per Jain, body parts under water and in very hot climate will decompose much faster. He claims that a fingerprint can be reconstructed by making a conductive copy of the deceased’s finger.

In his lab, researchers have accomplished this by first making an impression of a finger using the same material dentists used to make molds of teeth. Next, they put conductive silicone or gelatin inside the mold to make a cast. Once the fake finger is extracted from the mold, it was used to spoof a conductive fingerprint scanner. Jain said the lab has unlocked multiple devices using this technology.

Can you unlock a smart with a spoofed fingerprint?

According to Apple’s website, Touch ID won’t work by itself after it has gone unused for 48 hours. At that point, a pass-code or password must be entered for additional validation to unlock a phone.  The Samsung website says that if your phone has not been used for more than 24 hours, you will need to use your PIN, password, or pattern instead of your fingerprint.

Amazon series Bosch – Season 4 – shows the Los Angeles Police Department detective going to the morgue and pressing a corpse’s thumb to the screen of a mobile phone, to unlock it and see if there are any clues in the murder victim’s data.  It did work in the in the reel life, but in real life, it does not. Once a tissue is dead, it loses all its electrical charge and will fail to activate a phone’s fingerprint sensor, making it impossible to unlock.

Your footprints – you leave them on the sands of time. Your fingerprints – you leave them with your Pension Sanctioning Authority.

On Aug. 15, 2023, Canadian Defence Minister Bill Blair announced that Canadian Armed Forces (CAF) members who experience sexual misconduct or harassment can now file a complaint directly with the Canadian Human Rights Commission instead of the internal military grievance process. 

The policy was one of the major pillars of Operation Honour, the military’s campaign to stamp out sexual misconduct in the ranks. Complaints about harassment and discrimination that are not based on sex will still be handled through internal military procedures.

The Human Rights Commission received 42 complaints about discrimination based on sex by military members between 2015 and 2021.  The number was likely so low because of a requirement to exhaust the internal grievance process before taking complaints outside the institution.

The change is to scrap a controversial Duty to Report policy that requires CAF members to report all incidents of misconduct, including sexual misconduct or racism, regardless of whether they were directly affected by them. Failing to report incidents of misconduct and wrongdoing was punishable under old military regulations.  The new policy will eliminate the obligation to report and penalties for not reporting and give members the opportunity to exercise discretion and choose the best path forward.

Although the Duty to Report has been in military regulations since the 1930s, it was given new life and extra teeth after a 2015 independent investigation into sexual misconduct found victims under-reported incidents because they feared reprisals and didn’t trust the investigation process.

A House of Commons committee report complained in 2019 that the rules on the policy were too vague.  Rather, the policy was ambiguous and difficult for the military to prosecute.

Duty to Report policy has long been criticised by victims of misconduct and independent observers like former Supreme Court justice Louise Arbour, who delivered a landmark report on sexual misconduct in the military last year. They have argued that by allowing bystanders to report wrongdoing, the policy took the Canadian Human Rights Commission away from victims who may or may not have wanted to speak up.

It was thought that the Duty to Report obligation could help ensure that incidents were not ignored or minimised, and that it would enhance protections for survivors.   the Duty to Report regulations have had unintended negative consequences for people affected by offences of an interpersonal nature, such as sexual misconduct or hateful conduct.

The new regulation aims to induce a culture where survivors, and all those affected by misconduct, feel safe, supported, and able to report wrongs on their own terms. Now, any sexual assault survivors can weigh their options. If they choose to remain silent, they do not have to fear further punishment or face unwelcome exposure if others inform on their predicament against their wishes.

The new regulation will apply to new and existing complaints, allowing military members to ask for an independent review before exhausting internal grievance processes. Modernising complaint processes is a key component of the efforts to bring in cultural changes in the CAF. It will ensure that CAF members access human rights justice swiftly.

We spent a summer’s day outdoors, delighting in the calming showering fragrances and taking in the serenity of the purple-hued landscape of Avlon Lavender Farm. Avalon invites a special connection to nature. Literally meaning Isle of Fruit. The farm has over 30,000 lavender plants – English + French –  in 7 different cultivars.

Lavender or lavandula comes from the Latin word lavare meaning ‘to wash’, as Romans used it abundantly in their baths, hot spas & massages. In botanical terms, lavandula belongs to the mint family of scented plants, along with thyme, mint, sage and many others.

For a long time lavender or lavandula was known as a wild solitary plant. It grew high up on the hot, sunny slopes of mountains, away from civilized places on arid, uncultivated ground. Neither sown, nor cultivated, withstood the winds and the droughts, with two good friends: sun to grow and bees to pollinate. It wasn’t long before the shepherds spread their secrets and lavender descended from the hilltops to more accessible plateaus.

Lavender may have earned this name because it was frequently used in baths to help purify the body and spirit. However, this herb has also been used as a remedy for a range of ailments from insomnia and anxiety to depression and fatigue. Research has confirmed that lavender produces a slight calming, soothing, and sedative effects when its scent is inhaled.

From Greece, Egypt, Rome, English gardens, and the hills of Provence, lavender cultivation spread and it become an essential remedy for many ailments and well-being. Lavender subtle floral fragrance attracted soap and perfume makers, to make it the most versatile herb of all. Times came and gone, and still today, the ‘purple gold’ is unscathed choice as a true natural remedy for well-being and healing.

Lavandula angustifolia, also called True lavender or English lavender, is best known for its sweet, mellow scent, high quality essential oil, medicinal properties and it is a widely used culinary herb. Propagated by seeds and cuttings, it is cold and drought tolerant.

Lavandula X Intermedia known as French lavender is a hybrid between Lavandula angustifolia and Lavandula Latifolia, best known for its tall stalks, heady fragrance and high oil yield. It is used in aromatherapy and cosmetics. However it is not considered culinary lavender, due to its higher camphor content than Lavandula angustifolia. Lavandula X Intermedia flowers are sterile and propagation is done through cuttings. It is also cold and drought resistant.

Lavandula stoechas also known as Spanish lavender, grown more as ornamental plant than for oil distillation is more sensitive to cold winters.

At the Avlon Lavender farm, for an additional $10 at the door, you’ll be lent a scissors and given a bundle bag to fill with your own freshly cut lavender. Typically the bundle bag holds far more than $10 of fresh lavender, so this is great and economical way to enjoy the experience of harvesting your own lavender.

A field worker will point you to a specially flagged garden for Guest Cut-Your-Own, and will be available to help you cut to ensure maximum health for our lavender and your bouquet.

At the farm, 30 free-range lavender orpington hens love their life of grazing and adoration here at Avalon. Guests continue to fall in love with their curious and friendly temperaments.

To harvest the oils and hydrosols from lavender flowers, distillation is done with a Portuguese copper still. The process spreads aroma of fresh lavender.

At the end of the day, we all felt that it was worth the effort to visit the Avalon Lavender Farm at Mona, about 90 minutes drive from our home.

Featuring rust red undulating topography, the Cheltenham Badlands is part of an area designated as a UNESCO World Biosphere Reserve, and it plays a vital role in geographical conservation. It is a series of bare, windswept red hills and gullies in southern Ontario that formed due to overgrazing. In the 1930s, the area was still productive farmlands, but poor farming practices resulted in the creation of the rolling Martian landscape.

It is located at Caledon, about an hour away from Toronto and Mississauga and north of Brampton, on the Old Baseline Road.

The area was once fertile farmland as the settlers grew various crops, but the farming practices caused the erosion of shallow topsoil, exposing the underlying Queenston Shale. The changing seasons further accelerated the erosion of the shale, resulting in this unique landscape.

The Cheltenham Badlands is a landscape of rolling red rock made up of highly eroded and exposed Queenston Shale. The red hills were slowly revealed as the elements wore away the vegetation over the years. The bright red color is due to a high concentration of iron oxide, while the greenish streaks are a result of groundwater oxidizing the red rock.

The shale has now eroded into a series of hummocks and gullies, producing the distinctive landscape.  The striking landscape of the Cheltenham Badlands is one of Ontario’s geological treasures and is one of the best examples of Badland topography in the province.  As the shale supports little or no vegetation, it has left the area as barren badlands. The exposed geological processes displayed by the Badlands makes it a popular educational site for geology enthusiasts and tourists alike.

Earlier, this distinctive landscape was open fully, allowing visitors to walk over the formation. This resulted in accelerated erosion of the sensitive red shale surface and caused permanent changes to the Badland’s unique appearance.  To protect the Badlands from further erosion, the site was in 2015 and developed a boardwalk that closed off physical access to the Badlands by 2018.

Annamma (name changed to protect privacy) is a frail, 85 year widow, on palliative care, due to multiple ailments. She has three sons and three daughters; elder son passed away over 10 years back, in a gruesome accident. The other two are casual labourers, egging out a living by rubber tapping. Augstin, the younger son, with whom Annamma stays, goes out for tapping at 5 am, toiling till evening making rubber sheets, earning a pittance at the end of it. His three children are in 7^th, 6^th and 2^nd standard at a nearby school. 

Annamma’s two daughters are nuns serving in a congregation which runs 17 orphanages across the world, including in Africa and India. They look after mentally challenged orphans, many of whom are also physically challenged and fully bedridden. Because of financial constraints, they do not, as a policy, employ outside caregivers. All care is given by the nuns themselves, 24×7. Having been associated with them for over 15 years, my heart goes out to these nuns for their unwavering dedication to these deprived Children of Lesser Gods.

During one of my frequent visits to the orphanages, I heard of the miserable condition that the mother of these two nuns is living in. I thought it prudent to check it out and travelled by bus for four hours and thereafter trekked uphill half an hour to reach their ramshackle hut. What I saw shook my conscience. 

Here was the mother of two nuns doing utmost service to the suffering humanity, cuddled on a wet bed and room, due to constant leakage of the roof, due to monsoon rains. The family had no money to repair/ replace the tarpaulin of the leaking roof and other minimum work to make it livable. A cursory discussion with knowledgeable persons revealed it would take approx Rs 5 lac to make the house in a decent state, without constant leakage of the roof.

Humanity at large, particularly the neighbourhood, had every reason to hang its head in shame. But most villagers being in the deprived category, had little means to look after such a neighbour. 

I therefore appeal to the good Samaritans of this World, who have the heart, to contribute their might to ensure that this pious old lady has a decent ending, for the contribution she has made to make this world a better place to live for the mentally and physically challenged. Your contributions may kindly be sent directly to the bank account, details as under.

Name: Augstin Varghese 
SBI Acct # 32892797238 – IFSC code: SBIN0006459

Veteran Brigadier Josekutty Kurian, Indian Army Veteran Mob # +91 9619498282

In the army, Firm Base is an important aspect of any attack. An attack must begin from a firm base and as the attack develops, commanders must continue establishing firm bases. This allows the attacking forces to maintain one foot on the ground and thus retain balance during the attack. Firm bases are established on terrain that provides the attacking forces an advantage in terms of fire and observation. A firm Base is a tactical area occupied by a part of the attacking force. In case the attack fails, the attacking troops fall back into the safe Firm Base.

In modern warfare involving international forces, a Firm Base can be described as a secure environment, at home and overseas, that sustains the Army, enables training for, and deployment on operations and ensures the consent and support of the public and host nations.

Applying this analogy to day to day living, our family, friends, community etc., provide us with a Firm Base at various stages in our lives as we tackle emerging challenges at school, college, our chosen career, breakup in a relationship, reversal in our fortunes and so on. When a person decides to leave his or her home and relocate overseas for higher studies or career prospects, initially one will feel like a fish out of the water as one adapts to a totally alien environment.

Who would need a firm Base in Canada?

Any new immigrant to Canada will require a Firm Base to fall back when the chips are down.  It isn’t easy to find one!

Recent immigrants to Canada who came seeking a new life, are here alone – with no close family or friends to help. They must adjust to living in a society that is new and strange. Some days are good, and some are bad. During the bad days, many wonder as to why at all did they decide to come to Canada. Over time, they adjust to the Canadian realities, feel comfortable, settle well and probably have more good days than bad.

During those days when they feel lost and down in the dumps, new immigrants need a Firm Base – a place they can go to, a person to whom they can confide their issues and seek advice and assistance.

We have been providing a Firm Base to many young people – mostly wards of Veterans – who immigrated to Canada. It begins with orienting them to the Canadian realities; providing food & accommodation for the settling down period; driving them to various Government offices for documentation; driving them to the grocery stores; finding schools for their children; help in rewriting their resumes; finding jobs; finding accommodation – the list goes on.

On 02 June 2023, at about 5 PM, I received a call from the Toronto Emergency Services, “Vicky, a University of Toronto student was evacuated by the ambulance as he had passed out on the streets of Toronto. Your number is listed as the emergency contact.” Vicky is the son of a Veteran friend. That day I was working on a tight schedule to meet an urgent business requirement. I rushed to the hospital. The drive that usually took 40 minutes, being a Friday evening, took 90 minutes.

Sheeba, daughter of a Veteran friend, was due for the delivery of her first child. Her parents could not get a Visa to be with their daughter. There was a minor complication and the gynecologist decided to induce labour before the due date. On the day she was admitted to the hospital with Shaan, her husband. I drove to their home – a drive of over an hour and stayed there for three days – to help them in case of any emergency or run any errands. By God’s grace, they were blessed with a smart boy without any complications.

Anmol, a Veteran who served for 15 years, a new immigrant, called me for help finding a job. I helped him rewrite his resume to a page and Bingo! He landed up as an Assistant Manager in a reputed firm.

A Veteran friend called me to say that his daughter Shrijani wanted a Canadian to co-sign the lease deed for an apartment as she was on a student Visa. I asked him to tell Shrijani to email me the form. In five minutes, I signed the form and returned it with my tax return. Shrijani was surprised that I did not ask her any questions. She said that her relatives in Canada asked her many questions, but declined to co-sign when it came to the requirement of attaching their tax return. They claimed that their Social Insurance Number (SIN) will be disclosed. (The tax return carries only the last three digits of the SIN – may be that their true economic status might be revealed.)

Hari, a Veteran’s son on immigration contacted me for help with settling down and finding a job. He was referred to by another Veteran who was my instructor in Army. He warned Hari, “He is a difficult man to understand, and it will take you a week to realise what he is worth. Listen to him and follow his instruction and you will do well in Canada.” Hari is today a Senior Project Manager with a leading Canadian bank.

Recently a Veteran friend called seeking help to resolve a domestic violence issue concerning his subordinate’s daughter. I refused to be involved in the case but advised him of the methodology to be followed. The same I reproduced as a Blogpost Canadian Immigration Woes – Please Click Here to Read.
A new immigrant is under a lot of professional, social, environmental, and academic pressure, and they need guidance to help them wade through. They cannot afford to fall through the cracks or become depressed or anxious.

A Firm Base will go a long way in ensuring a better future for the new immigrants.

For centuries, roses have inspired love and brought beauty to those who have received them. In fact, the rose’s rich heritage dates back thousands of years. People have been passionate about roses since the beginning of time. We have over fifty bushes in our garden.

Jawaharlal Nehru, the first Prime Minister of India, was fond of Red rose. He always wore a Red rose on his jacket until his last breath.

Red is the most popular color of roses sold at Valentine’s Day, making up 60% of sales worldwide.

It is said that the floors of Cleopatra’s palace were carpeted with delicate rose petals. Shakespeare refers to roses more than 50 times throughout his writings. It is also New York’s state flower.

1,000 years old. That’s the age the world’s oldest living rose is thought to be. Today it continues to flourish on the wall of the Hildesheim Cathedral of Germany.

It was in seventeenth century that French explorer Samuel deChamplain brought the first cultivated roses to North America. Roses are truly ageless. Recently, archaeologists discovered the fossilized remains of wild roses over 40 million years old.

The people of ancient Greece used roses on festive occasions to adorn themselves with garlands of roses and splash themselves with rose-scented oil. Napoleon’s wife Josephine so adored roses, she grew more than 250 varieties.

The largest rose bloom ever bred was a pink rose measuring approximately 33 inches in diameter, bred by Nikita K. Rulhoksoffski from San Onofre, California.

Red roses are the traditional symbol for love, romance. It reflects beauty and perfection. Myth has it that Venus’ son Cupid accidentally shot arrows into the rose garden when a bee stung him, and it was the ‘sting’ of the arrows that caused the roses to grow thorns. When Venus walked through the garden and pricked her foot on a thorn, it was the droplets of her blood which turned the roses red.

Pink Rose depicts gentleness, grace, gladness, joy and sweetness. It also conveys happiness, gracefulness, and admiration. It’s an elegant choice, perfect for a daughter, mother, or sister.

Bright, cheerful, and joyful are what come to mind when thinking of a yellow rose. Giving yellow roses can tell someone the joy they bring you and the friendship you share.

White roses, the purist of colors, represent innocence, purity, and charm. White roses are traditionally used in weddings and can represent new beginnings. Why white roses are so special is no mystery – it’s a myth. Perhaps it started with the Romans who believed white roses grew where the tears of Venus fell as she mourned the loss of her beloved Adonis.

The fun, fiery orange color conveys a message of happiness and joy. Give them to friends or family—really anyone who could use a mood-lifter! Orange roses symbolise passionate romance.

Purple roses range from lavender to darker hues, is a colour of royalty. It symbolises love at first sight and sincerity.

Love at first sight or just an enchanting way to say, I love you! Lavender roses can offer a daily reminder of your love and eagerness to grow your relationship.

Peach coloured roses are a sweet choice as a gift to your sister, teacher, or friend. It depicts appreciation and gratitude or a different way to say Thank You! They symbolise innocence and purity.

Cream roses are indicative of charm and thoughtfulness and goes well with pink thank you roses. Gifting a bunch of cream roses is an ideal way to show someone that you care – but without any romantic intentions.

“How did it happen that their lips came together? How does it happen that birds sing, that snow melts, that the rose unfolds, that the dawn whitens behind the stark shapes of trees on the quivering summit of the hill? A kiss, and all was said.” Victor Hugo

“What’s in a name? That which we call a rose by any other name would smell as sweet.” William Shakespeare

Peonies are outrageously beautiful in bloom, with lush foliage. They bloom from late May through June in Toronto. The flowers last only two weeks.

Their stems are not strong enough to support the heavy blossoms, hence they need support. Peony cages are placed in spring around the plant as they grow.

Peony is named after Paeon (also spelled Paean), a student of Asclepius, the Greek god of medicine and healing. They are also the 12^th anniversary flower – because the peony symbolises honour, fortune, and a happy relationship.. It is the state flower of Indiana.

Peonies are native to China. They are highly valued there, and are often referred to as the King of Flowers. They were the national flower prior to 1929, when they were replaced by the plum tree. Chinese name for the peony is Sho Yu meaning Most Beautiful.

Peonies of three types grow in our garden- Tree Peonies, Herbaceous Peonies and Itoh peonies.

Herbaceous peonies (also known as bush peonies) die to the ground in Winter. They re-emerge in March, or when the snow melts. Many find that they are deer resistant, but not always. Peonies are long lived, minimal care plants.

Tree peonies are called tree peonies for the woody stems that they have. Tree peonies have woody stems that defoliate in the fall, but the woody stems stay intact, above the ground. They tend to bloom earlier and with larger flowers than the bush peony.

Itoh or Intersectional peonies are a cross between the herbaceous (or bush) peony and the tree peony. These crosses have produced new, exciting colors. The plants have the lovely leaf form of the tree peonies, but die to the ground in the Winter. Since they are recent introductions and are still in short supply they command a high price.

Itoh Peonies derive its name from Japanese horticulturist, Dr. Toichi Itoh, who successfully created seven peony hybrids from a tree peony bred with an herbaceous peony. Dr. Itoh passed away before ever seeing his creations bloom. Years later, American horticulturist, Louis Smirnow bought some of these original Itoh peonies from Dr. Itoh’s widow and continued Itoh’s work.

Peonies like full sun, and though they can manage with half a day, they bloom best in a sunny spot. They come in every color except for blue. Pink, and white, are the most popular colours. Peonies can live upto a hundred years. In ancient times peonies were believed to relieve headaches and help with asthma.

The Netherlands is the largest cut peony producer (over 40 % of the estimated world production.)surprisingly, Alaska comes next.

In two weeks the flowers wither and the pods are exposed. Like most hybrid plants, the seeds of the peony plant will not breed true when planted and are unlikely to produce a flower like the original parent plant.

Walking to the Butterfly Conservatory @ Niagara with our grandson James, Marina suddenly stopped and said, “What is this new road sign?”

I too looked at it carefully. It was that of a Bike Fix-it Station.
Niagara Falls is one of the most exciting cycling destinations in Ontario. The rolling landscape of the Region and breathtaking natural wonders provide a unique experience for enthusiasts or amateurs. From road courses to scenic trails, seeing Niagara on two wheels is not only great exercise but a memorable adventure.

On a drive to Niagara Falls, you will come across many cars laden with bicycles at the back. Varying sizes of the cycles indicate that it is a family activity for both adventure and for infotainment. Trains and buses to Niagara have special arrangements to carry bicycles.

Municipality of Niagara has established many Bike Fix-it Stations all along the cycling trails. Ontario Ministry of Tourism, Culture and Sport’s Bike Parking Capital Funding Program, Niagara Parks has undertaken a series of cycling amenity improvements along the Niagara River Recreation Trail, designed to enhance and promote cycling tourism in Niagara and Ontario.

The Fixit station includes all the tools necessary to perform basic bike repairs and maintenance, from changing a flat to adjusting brakes and derailleurs. The tools are securely attached to the stand with stainless steel cables and tamper-proof fasteners.

Hanging the bike from the hanger arms allows the pedals and wheels to spin freely while adjusting or repairing.

Every station is provided by a hand pump for tire inflation.

Cycling in Niagara is one of the best outdoor adventures to experience in Ontario. There are lots of paved bike paths, expansive green spaces, and beautiful waterways throughout Niagara Falls and Niagara region. It’s easy to hop on your bike and ride for days. The Parkway has been named one of the Top 10 cycling routes in the World, stretching over 58 km along the Canadian side of the Niagara River.
Learn to ride a bicycle. You will not regret it if you live – Mark Twain
The bicycle is the most civilised conveyance known to man. Other forms of transport grow daily more nightmarish. Only the bicycle remains pure in heart. – Iris Murdoch, Irish author

Hindenburg is in news with expose on Adani.  The company is a short-seller that specialises in forensic financial research, founded in 2017 by Nathan Anderson.

The company’s website claims, ‘We view the Hindenburg as the epitome of a totally man-made, totally avoidable disaster.  We look for similar man-made disasters floating around in the market and aim to shed light on them before they lure in more unsuspecting victims.’

Where does this company get its name Hindenburg?

Let us peep into the history of the real Hindenburg.

Nazi Germany built the largest airship of that time. The airship used highly flammable hydrogen gas for lift off but was vulnerable to explosion.  In the 1930s, the Graf Zeppelin made an airship that pioneered the first transatlantic air service.  It was named Hindenburg after Paul Von Hindenburg (1847-1934,) a German World War I military commander and President. The airship measured 804 feet from stern to bow.

Why was Helium, a non-combustible gas not used in the German airship?

U.S. law of the time prevented the Hindenburg from using helium.   

Hindenburg’s designer – Hugo Eckener – wanted to use Helium, but the U.S., which had a monopoly on Helium and feared that other countries might use the gas for military purposes, banned its export.

After the Hindenburg disaster, owing to American public opinion, the law was amended to allow helium export for nonmilitary use.

Despite being filled with 7 million cubic feet of highly combustible hydrogen gas, the Hindenburg featured a smoking room. Passengers were unable to bring matches and personal lighters aboard the airship, but they could buy cigarettes and Cuban cigars on board and light up in a room pressurised to prevent any hydrogen from entering. A steward admitted passengers and crew through a double-door airlock into the smokers’ lounge, which had a single electric lighter, and made sure no one left with a lit cigarette or pipe.

On May 3, 1937, the Hindenburg left Frankfurt, Germany, on its flight across the Atlantic to Naval Air Station Lakehurst, in Manchester Township, New Jersey, just outside of New York City.  It was carrying 36 passengers and 61 crew and was captained by Captain Max Pruss.

1n 1936, Hindenburg had crossed the Atlantic, often to Brazil, 34 times.  While attempting to moor at Lakehurst, the airship suddenly burst into flames, probably after a spark ignited its hydrogen core. 13 passengers, 21 crew, and a ground crew lost their lives, and most of the survivors suffered serious injuries.

Hindenburg’s final flight across the Atlantic was relatively uneventful, other than some headwinds, that slowed it by an hour. When the aircraft flew over New York area, thunderstorms and bad weather thwarted the scheduled late-morning landing at Lakehurst.

To avoid the storm, Captain Pruss flew over Manhattan and out into the Atlantic, to wait until the storm subsided. People of New York ran out of their homes to watch the world’s largest airship overhead. It raised curiosity as it was roughly the size of the Titanic, but it flew overhead.

Around 6 PM, the storms passed, and Captain Pruss ordered his ship to Lakehurst, almost a half-day late. By 7 PM, the Hindenburg was on final approach to Lakehurst, which had mooring mast and a winch. In those days, large airships dropped its lines and cable to be run down through the mooring mast and into the winch, which pulled the airship to the ground.  This procedure was called Flying Moor.

When Hindenburg was at an altitude of 295 feet, the mooring lines were dropped to the ground as a light rain began to fall. The lines were connected through the mooring masts to the winch and as the Flying Moor operations commenced, Hindenburg caught fire.

As the Hindenburg’s flaming tail began to drift toward the earth, the flames moved forward through the different hydrogen-holding cells toward her bow. The ship began falling steeply. When the airship’s stern hit the ground, the fire burst through its nosecone. The entire disaster lasted less than 40 seconds.

Hindenburg disaster marked the end of an era of airships. Then began World War II and arrived speedy fighter aircraft which could easily shoot down the slow-moving airships, blew the death knell to the airship industry.

Radio announcer Herb Morrison, who was at Lakehurst to record a newsreel for NBC, immortalised the Hindenburg disaster in a famous statement, “Oh, the humanity!”

The U.S. Department of Commerce and the U.S. Navy couldn’t come to any solid conclusion in their report and stated ‘the firey disaster was a result of the mixture of free hydrogen and air.’  The mystery Hindenburg disaster lives on, likely never to be definitively solved.

Such are the man-made disasters Hindenburg refers to and the company claims to shed light on them before they lure in more unsuspecting victims.

Ms Hazel McCallion, who transformed our city – Mississauga – a suburb of Toronto from a largely rural community into a bustling metropolis during her 36-year tenure as mayor, died at the ripe age of 101 on January 29, 2023.

Nicknamed Hurricane Hazel due to her unique political style, she served 12 terms as the Mayor of Mississauga from 1978 to 2014.

Hazel was born in Port Daniel, Que., on February 14, 1921. Her family owned a fishing and canning company. She attended business secretarial school in Quebec City and Montreal after high school. She joined the Canadian Kellogg company and transferred to Toronto. She remained with the company for 19 years. In 1967 she decided to leave the corporate world and devote her career to politics.

In 1945, she met her husband Sam, and the couple married six years later. The McCallions then settled in Streetsville (now part of Mississauga,), where Hazel’s political career began. Sam passed away in 1997. Hazel’s in-laws on her marriage to Sam gifted a piece of land in the village of Streetsville,where she lived at the time of her death

Hazel McCallion was the Greater Toronto Airports Authority board of directors at the time of her death. She was first appointed to the board in 2017. McCallion also sat as a chancellor of Sheridan College and a special advisor to the University of Toronto’s Mississauga campus.

McCallion the Mayor of Mississauga, I saw her the first time when she gave the graduation address to the students when our daughter Nidhi graduated from high school in 2009. She came driving her Chevrolet Malibu car bearing the licence plate MAYOR1. The graduation address was inspiring, motivating and made the listeners think. She peppered her address with wit and humour and made everyone laugh too. Immediately after delivering the address, she dashed off to the next high school in the city to address that school’s graduates. This proved that her nickname of Hurricane Hazel suited her to the tee.

Hazel McCallion, has won every mayoral election contested in Mississauga since 1978. She is the longest serving mayor in Canada and has kept the city debt-free since her first term of office. McCallion began her political career in 1968 on the Streetsville municipality which she served as Chairman of the Planning Board, and then Mayor of Streetsville. In 1974, Streesville got incorporated into the City of Mississauga.

In her first mayoral election in 1978 she narrowly defeated the incumbent mayor. In 1979 she came into world news when a public health and safety crisis occurred during the 1979 Mississauga train derailment. A train carrying toxic chemicals derailed in a heavily populated area of Mississauga. A large explosion and fire ensued as hazardous chemicals spilled. McCallion, along with the Police and other governmental authorities, oversaw an orderly and peaceful evacuation of the entire city of 200,000 residents. Despite having sprained her ankle, she continued to hold press conferences and update briefings. There were no deaths or serious injuries during the week-long emergency.

Her reputation has hinged on her financial acumen and political pragmatism, with her no-nonsense style endearing her to constituents and alienating some opponents. In 1991 she became the first mayor to submit their city’s budget to public scrutiny.

Mayor McCallion is well known for her love of hockey. She played for a professional women’s team while attending school in Montreal. One of her friends and a hockey commentator Don Cherry, who joked during her 87^th birthday that while 98 per cent of the city voted for her, he was looking for the remaining 2 per cent that didn’t. She never campaigned for the elections, she never put up posters, she never delivered any elections speeches, but she always got over 90% of the votes.

Her principles were grounded in the belief that a city should be run like a business; thus, she encouraged the business model of governance. Her family’s business background, her education, and her prior career in a corporation prepared her to approach government with this model.

Hazel’s Hope, a campaign to fund health care for children afflicted with AIDS and HIV in southern Africa is her charity initiative. Hazel became the poster girl for longevity and good health for Trillium Health Centre. On her 90^th birthday, Dr. Barbara Clive, a geriatrician, marvelled at Hazel’s good health: “At 90 her gait is perfect, her speech is totally sharp and she has the drive to still run this city. She’s the poster child for seniors.”

On her 100^th birthday she said “My mom or dad couldn’t afford to send me to college or university. So I had to do it without that additional education. It’s the people you meet along the way, there’s always people to help you along the way if you’re willing to accept the help.”

In December 2014, Mayor McCallion stepped-down and people of the city remain ever grateful to her. What an amazing woman, who has given her life to our great city. What an inspiration for all women and for those of a certain age, that they aren’t done yet and can still live happy very productive active lives. To the generations coming up behind, to work hard and make a name for oneself and make a difference.

After delivering her annual State of the City speech, her last as mayor on September 23, 2014, Mayor McCallion had some advice for anyone who wanted to fill her coveted seat in Mississauga: “Don’t make promises you can’t keep. You have got to be honest with people. You can’t make promises when you haven’t got a hope to fulfill them.”

RIP Hazel. Thank you Hazel for all your hard work, commitment and dedication and to prove that age is only a number – even past hundred.

Recently there was an article on social media about Indian expats in Europe still seeking an arranged marriage.  The irony is that it was written by a professional matchmaker of Indian origin based in Europe. 

Arranged marriages among the next gen in our family in India is on the decline.  The youth want to select their mates on their own rather than opt for an arranged marriage.  It could well be that the children are allowed free choice.  Our generation was not allowed this freedom, more out of social and economic considerations. “Who can love whom and by how much was written in the love laws a long time ago,” lamented Arundhati Roy in the God of Small Things. But mercifully by and large the next generation has chosen to break  all abhorrent caste and religious barriers.

Similar is the case in North America, among people of Indian descent.  Most of those who import brides/ grooms or Mail Order Brides/ Grooms – they have not been capable of finding their partners – or they were never allowed to do so.  This mostly happens to children who immigrated in their high-school or later.  For them it is difficult to merge into the North American system of dating.

On migration, the parents are unaware of the social realities of North America.  Like us, many came with imported cultural and social values.  This did not allow for flexibility in parenting and the eldest child generally took the brunt.  By the time the next one reached high school, the strings were loosened, the parents by then a little more flexible.

One of our nieces who migrated while she was in high school is now a surgeon in the US. When her parents thought that she was marriageable, they generously asked her to look for a partner.  She was furious and retorted “You never allowed me to date!  Why? you did not even allow me to return home late! Now you want me to bring a boy home!  Is it feasible?” She settled for an arranged marriage, but her younger sister married her long-time fiancé. In our case, we had migrated when our children were very young and perhaps, we as parents had more time to accept and merge into the new value system. Our daughter Nidhi married her fiancé and our son Nikhil lives with his fiancé.

Many who go in for mail order brides/ grooms are often dependent on their parents economically.  This leaves them no choice other than to follow parental diktats. The situation is often pathetic in such cases. Caught between the nuances of different cultural values, often these marriages end up unhappy. This observation is personal and there is no empirical data to evaluate which system results in happier marriages.   

Nowadays there is a proliferation in the Indian digital marriage market sponsored by various matrimony sites. In the traditional value system the task is now outsourced to these companies.  It does not come cheap.  To this imbroglio, throw in the religious and caste angle coupled with the tenets of astronomy, and we have the comical evolution of a traditional system into the digital age.

About 23 percent of the Canadians who marry overseas from India every year and file international spousal sponsorships have their applications rejected. This has prompted applicants to complain that Canadian visa officers are suspicious of all Indian marriages – even genuine ones.  It’s a crime for a foreign national to marry a Canadian citizen or permanent resident only to gain entry to Canada.

Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) is often not convinced that the relationship is genuine and was entered into for honest reasons.  It is difficult to evaluate the genuineness of these cases, with each spouse telling different versions of events and at times even questioning the genuineness of supporting documents issued by many government institutions. In short, be doubly sure when you marry an overseas citizen.

Remember Dr Balamurali Ambatti, who made it into the Guinness Book of Records for becoming the world’s youngest MD in 1995.  His achievements then were widely celebrated by Indian parents.  Balmurali graduated from Baltimore City College at age 11, graduated from New York University and joined medical school at 14. At age 17, he received his MD from the Mount Sinai School of Medicine in New York.

Hyderabad police arrested Balmurali Ambati and three members of his family on a complaint filed by Balamurali’s wife that she was harassed by them for not paying a promised dowry.  She said that the family had locked her in a room of her New York City apartment and allowed her to return to India with them on a visit only after she signed a document agreeing to a divorce.

You can visualise the reasons for the episode!!!

At the Canadian War Museum, thousands of people have seen a painting of a Black Canadian woman in a military uniform, standing behind a canteen counter, with crossed arms and a stern face. Most Canadians neither know the woman in the painting nor the artist.   It is one of the most famous canvases to come from the brush of Molly Lamb Bobak, Canada’s first female war artist. 

The painting is of Sergeant Eva May Roy and it remains in storage at the Canadian War Museum. She is one of many Black women who served in the Canadian Armed Forces during World War II and is among the people whose stories are largely missing not only from public record but from public conscience as well.

Roy was a trailblazer, who served overseas at a time when it was rare to see a Canadian military woman working in Europe.  After the war broke out, Roy left her job as a presser in a laundry to become a machine operator and fuse assembler at the General Engineering Co. munitions plant in Scarborough, Ontario.

Roy enlisted in 1944 and joined the CWAC, a new division created just three years earlier. CWAC had 50,000 women in its ranks during World War II in support roles ranging from cooking to decoding. Roy trained as a cook and served in military canteens in Canada, the United Kingdom and Holland.

Many people associated with Roy say that the stern image presented by her portrait is somewhat misleading. She had an outgoing personality, was enthusiastic about the army and loved to sing.

After returning to Canada in January 1946, Roy worked as a government postal clerk in Toronto. Almost a decade later, when CWAC launched another recruiting campaign, Roy re-enlisted, served from 1955 to 1965 and attained the rank of sergeant.  She died in 1990.  

Molly Lamb Bobak (1920–2014) was the first Canadian woman war artist. In 1942 Bobak joined the Canadian Women’s Army Corps (CWAC) and was appointed Official War Artist with the rank of Lieutenant in 1945.  She served overseas in London where she painted women on military training as well as dynamic scenes of marches and parades.

Upon her return from London, Molly married fellow war artist Bruno Bobak. For her role in the Second World War and many other accomplishments she was elected to the Royal Canadian Academy of Arts in 1973 and presented with the Order of Canada in 1995.