Recently at the Jaipur Literary Festival (JLF) in Toronto, I attended a panel where several authors discussed their thoughts on ‘home’. Sukutu Mehta, spoke of being so disgruntled in his first year when having moved back to Mumbai that he hoped for it to be bombed or swallowed by a tidal wave. He keenly echoed my sentiments.

feature image: Switch 2021, part of a collage series, ‘To code-switch is to be multiple and relational, to embody and inhabit difference, to resist claiming origins and refuse the imposition of categories. As a methodology, code-switching is integral to Lubna Chowdhary’s artistic practice which has long sought to stake out a conciliatory middle or common ground between various binaries: art and craft, East and West…’ — excerpt from Murtaza Vali. (L) Mumbai rains, image: Punit Paranjpe, image by, Hasan Mahmud Prottay, (R) Mumbai monsoon in 1983. God please stop this, by Mahesh Baliga

After I left Toronto, I longed for it, and was perturbed by the realization of how integral to my essence it was. Eventually, I became ambivalent because I neither partook in nor was witness to the direction of change; then bitterness set in as the evolution had rendered the city unrecognizable.

What is it about ‘home’ that can betray? We desire progression but we crave a nostalgic type of Ekphrasis. If Toronto is global, Scarborough is hyper-cloistered.
Toronto, now a world-class destination has a vast foreign footprint that has effectively redefined the city.
Alternatively, Scarborough is touted as a place for authentic cultural culinary cuisine. Hand pulled Uyghur noodles can be found down the road from a Jamaican patty shop, juxtaposed to a Sri Lankan sari boutique.  A short distance lies apartment buildings —- with parking lots used by Punjabi farmers to sell amongst other things, the most fragrant cilantro. All this, arguably a healthy breeding ground for all cultures imparting a sense of ‘home’.

Interestingly I desired the opposite growth in each. I wished for Scarborough to be more than just culturally determined, and for Toronto to cease becoming predictable and uniform.