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Toronto consulate launches I-Day festivities

Ajit Jain in Toronto

A total of 97 people, including Royal Canadian Mounted Police officers acting as escorts for senior Indian diplomats, were present on Friday evening at the rotunda of the suburban Scarborough civic centre, east of Toronto, when the Indian consulate, in collaboration with a community organisation, Panorama India, launched three-day festivities to mark the 54th anniversary of India's independence.

India's High Commissioner Rajnikanta Verma came specially from Ottawa to inaugurate the festivities.

The opening ceremony was to be held in the civic centre's sprawling grounds outside, called Albert Campbell Square. But it was moved inside the rotunda as an official of Panorama India conceded that "with this number it would have made a poor show and then it is very windy outside".

Since it was an off-the-cuff confession the official said he would prefer his anonymity. In the same breath, he thought that in hindsight they should have hired some buses to cart people to the not-so-easily accessible Scarborough civic centre where even after reaching the complex one can easily get lost.

Two politicians who showed up at the inaugural ceremony were Liberal Member of Parliament Jim Karygiannis, a friend of the South Asian community, and Indo-Canadian Member of the Ontario Legislature Raminder Gill.

Indian Consul-General C M Bhandari introduced High Commissioner Verma as the 'seniormost diplomat' who would have been 'foreign secretary' had he been in India. The Indian government, however, wants him in Canada because of the growing importance of relations between the countries, Bhandari emphasized.

All what we do here is under the high commissioner's guidance, he repeatedly said in his introductory remarks.

The Independence Day celebrations are to showcase India's cultural heritage, Verma said in his inaugural address. He added that the community and the Indian consulate would continue to organise Independence Day celebrations under the Panorama India flag after Bhandari leaves his present position for a posting to another country. He has already completed his three-year term.

Bhandari himself had declared at the India-Canada beauty pageant last week that he could leave Toronto in anywhere between three weeks and three months.

The three-day festivities in Toronto comprise several cultural programmes with recitals by artistes like Menaka Thakkar, Janak Khendri and the Sharma sisters, qawwalis by Mohammed Zaheer and party, and popular Indian songs by Ranbir Chauhan.

New Miss India-Canada Neelam Verma was present holding a traditional silver tray and a pair of scissors for High Commissioner Verma, with the help of Bhandari, Canadian politicians and executive committee members of Panorama India, to cut a ribbon to mark the start of the festivities.

Verma seemed self-conscious supporting her Miss India-Canada crown and wearing the bag sash announcing 'Miss India-Canada 2001'. At the end of the inaugural ceremony she seemed relieved as she walked out of the rotunda into the open Albert Campbell Square. She removed her crown and her body language showed she was more relaxed with her friends with nobody staring at her without her outer symbols.

The Indian consulate in Toronto, as in other cities, is holding the official Independence Day reception at the rotunda of the Toronto City Hall, which is a more central location and easily accessible through public transport.

The guest list for that evening is invariably large and more people show up there than the actual number of invitees to enjoy free food and jaljeera! "Why not come along with me," many an invited guest is prone to tell his friend.

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