Sep '08
4

Toronto BrickWorks

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Looks like an array of kilns.

The Don Valley Brickworks is a former quarry and industrial site located in the Don River valley in Toronto, Ontario. Currently the buildings sit mostly unused while the quarry has been converted into a city park which includes a series of naturalized ponds. The Don Valley Brick Works operated for nearly 100 years and provided bricks used to construct many well-known Toronto landmarks, such as Casa Loma, Osgoode Hall, Massey Hall, and the Ontario Legislature. The buildings are currently undergoing restoration, courtesy of Evergreen, a national charity dedicated to restoring nature in urban environments. (Wikipedia)

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Someone made an artificial little pond and setup a canoe in it. Probably abandoned after the photo shoot.

Brick Works Factory is off-limits and there is a barrier around it. But people have creative ways to enter it and the guards don’t seem to care. Afterall what would a couple of guys with cameras do inside an abandoned structure?

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Switchboard. Reminds me of my engineering days!

My photographer friend wanted to go here and I tagged along. He was surprised and I was disappointed to find half a dozen people in that place already. Some were busy in photo shoots with models.

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Holes in broken walls offer pretty views.

I can’t read Graffiti. The words usually don’t make any sense. Feels like a whole different language :)

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Art supplies. The whole place is covered in Graffiti.

There are several ’secret’ passages that open to new rooms. Although its nice to explore and take pictures, 15 years ago I would have loved to play detective and investigate here!

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Some more machines.

This place must have been pretty busy judging by the size of it and the sheer number of kilns it had. A non-profit called Evergreen has plans to develop the abandoned buildings into a cultural centre with a focus on the environment. I’m not a big fan of such fancy “cultural centers.”

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The big warehouse, probably used for raw material storage.

I’m fascinated by Sun rays and dust that sparkles in the Sun. So simple but beautiful. My friend kicked up some dust so that this picture will make more sense.

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Area outside the kilns and heavenly intervention.

Tip: If you click on the images, the bigger versions that open are clearer than the pictures posted above. I think I used the wrong algorithm to resize :(

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Jul '08
1

Happy Pride!

The week long Toronto Pride Festival, a celebration by the LGBT community, culminated on Sunday, June 29. The festivities climaxed at the Pride parade on Sunday which was attended by over a million people.

Gay Pride Parade
Parade on Yonge Street (picture ftom CTV website)

“Pride Week is an event held in Toronto, Ontario during the last week of June each year. It is a celebration of the diversity of the LGBT community and is the one of the largest organized Gay Pride festivals in the world, featuring several stages with live performers and DJs, several licensed venues, a large Dyke March, and the Pride Parade. The epicentre of Pride Week is the city’s Church and Wellesley village…” (read more on Wikipedia)

Some pictures from the parade:

I was told that visitors from neighboring districts of Toronto arrive into the city with their families for this event. Indeed there were several kids perched on their dads’ shoulders and armed with water guns that were used on unsuspecting revelers. There were also plenty of foreign tourists (especially Chinese and Indians) who wore a completely baffled look on their faces. But still, they stayed till the end (almost 3 hours). Clearly, everyone was enjoying this carnival.

Church Street, the primary street in the gay village, and the arterial streets were closed for traffic for last three nights. Streets were full people partying and exhibiting their artistic skills and other ass-ets ;-) The initial part of the week was dominated by several music, dance, theatre and such cultural events.

I was overwhelmed by the sheer number of people out on the streets. I never saw so many people at the same time, it felt like a typical mela, with buskers, street food, chaos, people bumping into each other and an indescribably joyous environment.

People were happy. Simply happy. I have never seen so many happy people ever. It was insane.

Meanwhile, a Pride Parade was held in Delhi, Kolkata and Bangalore too. Although the turnout was a modest 600-800 and the event barely made a blip in the news, yet this was a symbolic step towards social equality and an end to discrimination based on sexual orientation for millions of Indians.

Happy Pride

PicturesThere are many more (and better) pictures in the Pride Parade 2008 Photo gallery.

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Apr '08
2

The Geese are here!

I got off from my bus today evening and was walking along the pond to my way home. Its a virtually dead place during winter but today I was in for a surprise! I saw new inhabitants near the freshly melted water! I jumped with joy:

“Yay! the Geese are back!”

Canadian Geese
Canadian Geese swimming in water. On the top is a pair of ducks. Photo: April 28, 2007

It’s not that I love the Canada Goose a lot. They make the whole place crappy after a while and can be quite aggressive when in large groups, making it quite annoying (and sometimes risky) to walk on the grass.

But I was happy, because the arrival of the Geese signaled the arrival of…. wait for it… here it comes… Spring!

During winter, these birds migrate to warmer regions towards the south (i.e. USA). Only a couple of weeks back I was in New York and it looked like the Geese had taken over the city.

Canadian Geese in New York
Canadian Geese in New York. Photo: March 24, 2008

There are still large chunks of steadily melting snow on the open areas. It’s about 0°C today and I hope it gets warmer soon. Nevertheless I suddenly feel that Toronto is alive again… Welcome Spring :)

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Jan '08
30

Pavan Devaya Namah

“I hate the name Pavan“, I told a friend last night.

If you are an extremist Hindu OR a self-declared-guardian-of-religion OR someone who imposes their ideas of right and wrong, then buzz off.

I woke up to loud noises today morning at 5. Out of curiosity, I went to the window of my bedroom to checkout what was happening. It was too foggy but I could see lot of dust in the air. Suddenly a mid size branch of a tree came zooming by and crashed on my window. Although I was safe indoors, by reflex action I ducked. FYI, my apartment is on the 17th floor, so I am sure someone cannoned the tree branch. In a microsecond, all my laziness vanished and I became more alert than I’d have been after 3 cups of coffee (partly due to the panic, partly due to the excitement).

Later, I was walking as fast as a snail (almost) to my bus stop this morning at 6, stomping my feet hard on the snow-covered damp grass. Walking on the walkway was out of question since it was covered with ice and I didn’t want to play घसरगुंडी / फिसलपट्टी / slide at this age. The wind was too powerful and confusing – it seemed to blow from all directions and was particular interested in me. Since it was cold and windy I was covered from head to toe with winter jacket, boots, hat, gloves and scarf, leaving just a little opening for my eyes (I looked like those Afgan women wearing an Abaya, except that I don’t cross-dress) yet, it was simply impossible to walk. I was almost getting blown away.

Ah, then I realized.
Pavan पवन aka Vayu dev वायु देव, the Hindu God of Wind decided to tease me today.

Puku
Lord Pavan
So, what happens when Pavan decides to be naughty with me?
(Puku is my nickname btw)

He blows strong wind (phooo….) and sweeps me away!


Priyank - Pavan comic 1

But hey, who’s complaining??

Now, since the City of Toronto isn’t getting any better (yeah yeah, I’ve started bitching about it like any Torontonian), Pavan dev took matters in his own hands winds.

Priyank Comic2

But, ultimately the God is a guy, and boys will be boys. After all that work, he decides to cool off…

Priyank Comic3

Thanks! Pavan dev :-)

- - -

Today was a very windy day in Toronto. Wind speeds reached as high as 50 kmph with local gusts upto 65 kmph. The cold winds stretched the temperature to -19 deg C (feels like).

I enjoyed walking in this brutal weather during lunch time, there was almost nobody on the street!

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Nov '07
23

Highway 407 solution

Previous post had a picture puzzle. Unfortunately nobody could precisely spot the thing I edited, although your responses might have been influenced by the effect generated by the edit. So, if you said ‘horizon’, then you get a passing grade :)

This is what I edited. A light pole in the middle of the picture. I removed it because it was ugly, right in the front and appearing important:

Highway 407 edit

The horizon was NOT edited, it looks like one, but thats just a coincidence :)

Thanks all for participating. Funny thing is that none of my real-world friends commented here, they preferred chatting :D

Update Note: The picture posted here is the original pic. Thanks Mandar for the hint ;)

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