Unforgettable Canadian Experience!

One night in the mid-nineties, I was walking along Richmond Street West towards University Avenue. As I passed the Hilton Hotel, I encountered a panhandler. He stood out from the regular panhandlers, wearing a worn-out coat and pants – a rich-to-rag figure. Politely, he asked for money, and I gave him a toonie, a Canadian two-dollar coin. Grateful, he handed me two quarters and suggested I give them to my daughter, assuring me she could use them to call me when needed.

In that instant, he became a unique and mysterious figure. Intrigued, I decided to engage in a short conversation with him. I noticed he carried a plastic container with 'Clarke for Mayor' written on its surface. Surprisingly, he shared that he was running for Toronto Mayor. He also  told me that he was running to champion people's rights. His revelation astonished me, given the media's portrayal of homeless individuals often dealing with mental illness.

My New York Experience and the Memory of a Street Artist!

This portrait of me was drawn by a street artist in the early eighties in New York. I don't know his name, but I still keep this drawing as a souvenir of that time. It's a pencil drawing, and surprisingly, it's still in good shape. Amazing!

An Urban Man's Lament!

From natural trees to trees of concrete,
from ape to human,
from ancient human to superhuman,
this marks an evolutionary growth,
says the kin of humans who landed on the moon.

Absorbing light is a common trait
for both these types of trees.
It's an explanation of the intelligence
of the most intelligent creature.

Poem 3: Kannamma! Are you just a mesh of particles and a field? (Kannamma poem 3)

Here, does anything called truth exist?
What I see, your existence
are they real?
How can I believe they're real?
Tell me.
You say that you exist.
You say your existence is real.
You also say you exist separately from me.
How can I believe it?

Poem 2: Space-Time Prisoners (Kannama poem 2)

In the space-time,
I wonder about your kind heart.
Each moment, I would like to fly in the space-time,
Each moment, enjoying thinking about space-time.
Kannamma, I would like to think about
breaking all barriers.

Kannamma, time doesn't exist alone.
Kannamma, space is also like that; it never exists alone.
Kannammaa, space-time is the only one that exists;
it's the only truth here, Kannamma.

Poem: Kannamma! We Are the Elements of a Four-Dimensional painting! (Kannamma Poem 1)

Expanding in a large space,
Who drew this four-dimensional painting here,
dear Kannamma?
Do you think there are
more multi-dimensional paintings,
beyond four that exist parallel Kannamma?
If they do, do you believe  or
Do you think
There is a way to reach them
Kannamma?
Please tell me,
my dear Kannamma!

A scene from Jeyakanthan's Tamil novel 'A Man, A House, A World' ('ஒரு மனிதன்! ஒரு வீடு! ஒரு உலகம்!')

Jeyakanthan's best novel, 'A Man! A House! A World!' ('ஒரு மனிதன்! ஒரு வீடு! ஒரு உலகம்!'), introduces Henry as the protagonist. He is an unforgettable character, a great man. I eagerly read this novel when it was serialized in the Tamil magazine 'Anantha Vikatan.' Because of that, this novel is a time machine for me, transporting me back to my childhood every time I think about it.