General’sAcademic Medal, the University of Toronto’s highestundergraduate award, of which no small number of illustriousCanadians have been recipients, were it not for a beef-eatingpink boy with a neck like a tree trunk and a temperament ofunbearable good cheer. I still smart a little at the slight. When you’ve suffered agreat deal in life, each additional…
I love Canada. I miss the heat of India, the food, the houselizards on the walls, the musicals on the silver screen, the cowswandering the streets, the crows cawing, even the talk ofcricket matches, but I love Canada. It is a great country muchtoo cold for good sense, inhabited by compassionate, intelligentpeople with bad…
“You are not so fed up on Mrs. Pollzoff that you want to get away from us all, are you?” he demanded. “No, of course not, but I was wondering what his plan was and what happened to it, if anything,” Roberta answered. “Glad to hear you do not want to leave. Gosh, to…
“Top of the morning to you,” Phil called cheerily. “Your esteemed passenger wants to make an early start, so the boys will have Nike warmed up for you and you can start as soon as you get to the field.” “It’s mighty good of you to come and fetch me,” Roberta smiled at the…
Precisely by being so slow. Sleepiness and sloth-fulness keepit out of harm’s way, away from the notice of jaguars, ocelots,harpy eagles and anacondas. A sloth’s hairs shelter an algaethat is brown during the dry season and green during the wetseason, so the animal blends in with the surrounding moss andfoliage and looks like a…
It seemed natural that Mr. Patel’s story should be toldmostly in the first person – in his voice and through hiseyes. But any inaccuracies or mistakes are mine. I have a few people to thank. I am most obviouslyindebted to Mr. Patel. My gratitude to him is as boundlessas the Pacific Ocean and I hope…
You must askhim all the questions you want.”Later, in Toronto, among nine columns of Patels in thephone book, I found him, the main character. My heartpounded as I dialed his phone number. The voice thatanswered had an Indian lilt to its Canadian accent, lightbut unmistakable, like a trace of incense in the air. “Thatwas…
God?””Yes.””That’s a tall order.””Not so tall that you can’t reach.”My waiter appeared. I hesitated for a moment. I orderedtwo coffees. We introduced ourselves. His name was FrancisAdirubasamy. “Please tell me your story,” I said. “You must pay proper attention,” he replied. “I will.” I brought out pen and notepad. “Tell me, have you been to…
One of his motivating passions was to build a lasting company. At age twelve, when he got a summer job at Hewlett-Packard, he learned that a properly run company could spawn innovation far more than any single creative individual. “I discovered that the best innovation is sometimes the company, the way you organize a…
“They speak a funny Englishin India. They like words like bamboozle.” I remembered hiswords as my plane started its descent towards Delhi, so theword bamboozle was my one preparation for the rich, noisy,functioning madness of India. I used the word on occasion,and truth be told, it served me well. To a clerk at a…