SNOW IN CANADA

Indian Restaurant at Queen's Quay

HARBOURFRONT

Toronto

CANADA

DOES IT SNOW IN CANADA FOR 365 DAYS OF THE YEAR?

On the other extreme, whenever I’m on a holiday to my native Goa, people often ask me: “Must be very cold out there in Canada, no? No sunlight and all, people become very fair there no? All white people, no?

"Being inside the house all the time, no? What children and all must be doing, no? Not getting to go outside to play and all, no? Do you get fish there? And what do you do for ‘masala’ and all? Do you take enough from Goa?"

"And what do you do for exercise?" some  ask and advise thus: "You know you could walk the inside length and breadth of your house to get some exercise and all – since you can’t go out I believe, no? as there is snow falling outside all the time, no? There must be no rain there and all, no? It’s night for 6 months, and day for 6 months, no? Are there are churches there?"

I try to be polite to restrain myself from delivering a lengthy lecture. But it would suffice to say: Yes, my dear, there are churches and all; and although there aren't any doubts about the cold temperatures and snow in a huge place like Canada, it does not snow 365 days of the year where we live. We don’t shovel snow the entire year, nor do we live without sunlight. There's spring, a very warm summer and plenty of rainfall and the beautiful season of autumn or fall is a sight to behold. There are vineyards, orchards, beaches, trekking and bicycle trails, parks for recreation and gardens blooming with beautiful flowers.

There are beautiful churches. Some parishes even have Goan priests. There's a church dedicated to the Goan patron Saint Francis Xavier. There's plenty of fish available - shrimps and pomfrets from Bombay, and Recheado masala from Goa, and also ready made masala and pickles made by Goans here in Canada!

The homes are heated, the school are heated, the trains are heated, buses and street-cars are heated. There are shopping malls, movie theatres and also churches that are heated. We live in well-built houses, not igloos. We see the same movies, on the same day they are premiered in New York or Los Angeles.

The Canadians make their own films and TV Series, and some of the best American movies and TV Series are shot in Canada. And a Canadian invented basketball. And 'Canadarm' was deployed on the Space Shuttle. I could go on and on, so far, so much being said, one could get the gist of it. Cheers!