We have all been beaten As my stay with my family in the Mandya district of Karnataka comes to an end, I write: “I return to the village still affected. Yesterday, a fifteen-year-old girl was beaten by her mother with an offshoot, just before my eyes.” My reaction surprised me. I think I cried more than she did. What does a teenage girl do on a Sunday in India? She would follow her mother's order to get up [...]
Taking Risks On March 8, I spoke to law students from the University of North Cape (NCU) in Gurgaon. I was felicitated and guest of honor of the Indian Bar Association (INBA). The topic of the day: "Female Empowerment"and I had things to say about the subject worldwide. What did India reveal to me? There is a whole library to enlighten us on the subject of women in India, but I will now dare to write about it [...]
INBA is proud to felicitate on International Women's Day on March 8, 2016 at The NorthCap University an International Speaker as a Guest of Honor Ms. Hélène Tremblay. I expected to find myself in a room full of women. But no, there were more men in the room. Law students. I knew I was privileged to have the opportunity to speak to them. Happy also as I have been wishing for a [...]
The green of the new misty rice fields. Three months in India. I have been undisciplined and did not take notes every night. I have lived and learned. I wonder sometimes if writers read. I write and say I need to read. I read and I say, I want to write. But I am in a country I am discovering and that often does not understand itself. I feel so ignorant when comes time to write about it. [...]
Mysore, I was advised to look for a family who cultivated sugar cane. As India is still 70% rural, I needed to know who cultivated what, where and when, before making my choice of a family. I could choose Karnataka, known for its sugar cane farming or if preferred, visit a family growing rice in Tamil Nadu. "Yes, yes there will be families who grow sugar cane in this village," I was assured at the Farmer's Science Center, "we know [...]
HH The Dalai Lama & the art of balance In India, I was invited by the Asian Arab Chamber of Commerce (AACC) to speak at the launch of "Tawazun India" - The art of balance. The guest of honor was the, HH The Dalai Lama. The hall of the hotel ITC Windsor was at its height. The program's theme "Peace and Economy" and I prepared accordingly for a short 25 minutes. We talked peace, little of economy, more of religion, [...]
I arrive in Bengalore the 28th of November 2015 at 2:30 in the morning. You will tell me that is not hard to beat but the airport is more modern and more beautiful then Montreal's Pierre Elliot Trudeau. Nalini is there to meet me she lives 20 minutes away and will be in no time in a comfortable bed. We are alone on the road. Now this is not what I expected of my entering India. I was announced [...]
