The first time I experienced autumn (fall) in the west, I was in Michigan. The intensity and vividness of color that suddenly put the nature on fire caught me in total surprise - so much better than what I had seen in the postcard size view cards back home - brighter, bolder and heart wrenchingly beautiful. I spent a lot of time walking around and taking it all in. Coming from a tropical country this was a great novelty, something that needed experiencing. It enchanted me to the core.
Many years fast forward, living in Toronto, I am still mesmerized by the beauty of this glorious morphing of leaf color – from green to all shades of red, yellow and purple. I unfailingly find time to get out there, in the nature, often with friends and family and shower in the beauty that lightens up the rolling hills, the pastures, the woods and just about everything around us.
It’s here again. While an unusually warm fall has delayed the arrival of color, it is here with equal vigor and vividness, marching ahead to blaze the world with its beauty, totally unaware of all the nasty things that are at work to remind us about the hardship and ugliness of our human existence – the plight of the brutally driven Rohingyas from their own land, the potentially dangerous bickering of U.S.A. President Trump with North Korean authoritarian leader Kim Jong-un, unprecedented rise of the neo Nazi groups in the west, spread of white terrorism, increasingly deadlier presence of the hard core Muslim terrorism, devastating hurricanes slamming with more and more viciousness, the mass exodus of people from middle east as a result of wars in Syria, Iraq and the vicinity… the list goes on.
Coming from Bangladesh, personally I am very concerned about the endless plight of the Rohingyas and the immense pressure the 400,000 displaced refugees put on a tiny country already grappling with over population and poverty. The fact that a country can deny citizenry of a group of people even after several generations of living in a land put us into a state of complete confusion wondering exactly what more one must do to call a land home? Myanmar army had done the unthinkable by declaring all Rohingyas as intruder, illegal, taking away their citizenship and all related rights (1982 Myanmar nationality law). The world is slowly taking notice, though the urgency is not there. With such slow progress it seems unlikely that so many people can safely, if ever, return to their land and home and continue with their lives in normalcy.
Our heart maybe heavy with sadness but our quest for beauty should not be suppressed. This fall take a break from the ordinary, go on for a road trip, enjoy the colors, take images. Some of the interesting places can be – Huntsville (Algonquin Provincial Park), Lake Simcoe area, Blue Mountain area etc. There’s so much to pick from.
Have a great time!
- Shuja Rasheed