Nurin Merchant gets to Dows Lake on a sunny day to photograph some of the 300,000 tulips that are planted there, making it the biggest tulip festival in Canada. She incorporates into her piece some excellent material prepared by the Aga Khan Park on the origins and significance of the tulip, one of the most venerated flowers in Islamic culture, to make her photo essay truly informative and and educational….PLEASE CLICK HERE OR ON IMAGE BELOW FOR PHOTO ESSAY
Please click on photo for Nurin’s photo essay on tulips.
Date posted: May 6, 2021.
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Before departing this website please take a moment to review Simerg’s Table of Contents for links to hundreds of thought provoking pieces on a vast array of subjects including faith and culture, history and philosophy, and arts and letters to name a few. Also visit Simerg’s sister websites Barakah, dedicated to His Highness the Aga Khan, and Simergphotos.
On April 4, 2021, Christians observe Easter Sunday, and we bring you a selection of photos related to Easter and the Christian faith captured by Montreal’s Muslim Harji during his travels around the world. Please click Photo of the Day or on the image below for more photos.
Shiraz Bandali of Edmonton, Canada, passed away at the age of 56. A passionate photographer, he captured “DOORS” during a family trip to Morocco, Portugal and Spain, and shared them with Simergphotos. We pay a tribute to Shiraz through his beautiful collection. Please click DOORS or on the image below.
“DOORS” by Shiraz Bandali. Please click on image to see collection.
Mawlana Hazar Imam His Highness the Aga Khan’s vision, creativity and thought followed by action makes him a talisman for the Ismaili community and for millions around the entire world. For Simerg’s Malik Merchant, Mawlana Hazar Imam’s three projects in Toronto, among hundreds of others around the world that benefit humanity at large, attest to his brilliant leadership. Malik spent a few hours from dawn to dusk at the grounds of the Aga Khan Museum, the Aga Khan Park and the Ismaili Centre to bring you a collection of marvellous photos. View the complete collection by clicking SIMERGPHOTOS or the image below.
Please click on image for photos.
Date posted: January 19, 2021.
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Before departing this website please take a moment to review Simerg’s Table of Contents for links to hundreds of thought provoking pieces on a vast array of subjects including faith and culture, history and philosophy, and arts and letters to name a few. Also visit Simerg’s sister websites Barakah, dedicated to His Highness the Aga Khan, and Simergphotos.
Mawlana Hazar Imam, His Highness the Aga Khan, 49th Imam of the Shia Imami Ismaili Muslims, pictured at the Diamond Jubilee Darbar in Kenya. Photo: The Ismaili
Please also click: Benjamin Mkapa (d. July 2020. As Tanzania’s President from 1995-2005, the late Benjamin Mkapa strongly supported the work of the Ismaili Imamat in his country as well as abroad. The support that he gave is clearly illustrated in a special piece about him in Barakah, a blog dedicated to Mawlana Hazar Imam, His Highness the Aga Khan)
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HISTORICAL PHOTOS OF MAWLANA HAZAR IMAM AND HIS FAMILY, IMAMAT PROJECTS AND OTHER EVENTS
Please click on image for 2020 stories and accompanying photos
Date posted: December 27, 2020. Last updated: December 28, 2020.
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We welcome feedback from our readers. Please complete the LEAVE A REPLY form below or, if you don’t see the box, please click Leave a comment. Your letter may be edited for length and brevity, and is subject to moderation.
With more than 10 cms of overnight snow, affirming December 25, 2020 as white Xmas, Malik Merchant put on his winter boots, in addition to wearing warm clothes, and headed to his favourite spot armed with a fully charged camera, an orange and an apple (to keep the doctor away)! Someone’s genuine love for winter, however, put Malik behind in second place, as a cheerful looking snowman had already been constructed…..MORE
Established as the news, lifestyle, and entertainment weekly in Vancouver for 50 years, the weekly Georgia Straight is an integral part of the active urban West Coast lifestyle with over 816,000 unduplicated readers/visitors print and website per week.
Recently, the paper published an overview of four Ismaili owned restaurants known for their distinct East African based Indian cuisines. The restaurants highlighted in the paper with corresponding website links are Ember Indian Kitchen, Jambo Grill, Simba’s Grill and Cayenne Bistro.
Missing in the Straight report are two restaurants that the editor of Simerg frequents whenever he visits Vancouver. These are the award winning Safari Snack House on Canada Way located near the Burnaby Lake Jamatkhana, known for its delicious black kebabs, and James Street Café & Grill, also on Canada Way, but closer to the Ismaili Centre Vancouver. Straight’s review can be read by clicking HERE or on the following image.
Please click on image for Straight.com article on Ismaili owned restaurants in Vancouver
We take this opportunity to invite owners of Ismaili restaurants in Canada and the USA specializing in South Asian, East African and Central Asian cuisine to write to us with a comprehensive 100-200 word overview of their restaurant, a picture of the restaurant as well as a photo of their most popular dish, along with a link to their website. Simerg will be most happy to provide a listing of their established eatery in a future piece. The description submitted should be accurate and complete, as any material that needs an extended amount of editorial changes will not be accepted for publication. Please write in confidence to Malik Merchant at Simerg@aol.com.
Date posted: October 22, 2020.
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We invite our readers from around the world to submit feedback on their favourite Ismaili owned restaurants — in any part of the world! Please complete the submission form below or click on Leave a comment.
Before departing this website please take a moment to review Simerg’s Table of Contents for links to hundreds of thought provoking pieces on a vast array of subjects including faith and culture, history and philosophy, and arts and letters to name a few.
Karim H. Karim’s beautiful poem is followed by a brief note from the editor as well as some pictures that he set off to take at Toronto’s Aga Khan Park, shortly after he had been inspired by the poem.
By KARIM H. KARIM
(Dedicated to all who are sad)
Sweetest are the songs That we sing in sorrows; Tears swell in our eyes Even when joy overflows.
Naïve folk fear the thorns Where flowers do flourish, Fresh with hues of hope.
Dawn’s light is nearest When sadness is darkest, Sings the black night In stars’ silent twinkle.
Embrace the aching pain, Learn to laugh a little And to comfort others.
Let storms beware That we are lighting The lamps of love.
Date posted: October 20, 2020. Last updated: October 22, 2020.
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(Based on Shankardas Shailendra’s (1923-1966) “Hain Sabse Madhur Wo Geet,” which evokes Percy Shelley’s (1792-1822) line “Our sweetest songs are those that tell of the saddest thought.”)
Karim H. Karim
About the author: Karim H. Karim is the Director of the Carleton Centre for the Study of Islam and a Professor at Carleton University’s School of Journalism and Communication.
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Editor’s note: I was truly feeling sad earlier today (October 20), thinking about my daughter and my mother whom I haven’t visited for several months due to Covid-19. I was lonely, and also worried about my health in these uncertain times! My friend Karim H. Karim who is nearly 450 kms from me must have sensed that. I was waiting for another article from him altogether, not a piece dedicated for those who are sad. In my reply to his humble submission, I told him I would review it in a few days time! However, I decided to read it straight away, and his piece truly cheered me up. And in that moment of becoming a lot less sad, I gained some energy and headed to my favourite place! Yes, the Aga Khan Park, with two incredible buildings, the Ismaili Centre and the Aga Khan Museum around it — gracious gifts from Mawlana Hazar Imam, His Highness the Aga Khan.
Admittedly, I haven’t been to the Park for a number of weeks, passing by it only in my car. The photographs that I took during my visit to the Park, represent my joyous moments, that I owe to Karim’s beautiful rendition. As I walked to the park, I was reminded of Mawlana Hazar Imam’s quote where he says that if one has faith, one may be worried, one may at times feel sad but one will never be unhappy. How true! Enjoy the photos, which were inspired by the poem.
Date posted: October 20, 2020. Last updated: October 21, 2020 (new link).
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We welcome feedback from our readers. Please complete the LEAVE A REPLY form below or, if you don’t see the box, please click Leave a comment. Your letter may be edited for length and brevity, and is subject to moderation.
Before departing this website please take a moment to review Simerg’s Table of Contents for links to hundreds of thought provoking pieces on a vast array of subjects including faith and culture, history and philosophy, and arts and letters to name a few.
In the 11th century, Nasir Khushraw came to the Pamirs, and brought the Shiite Ismaili branch of Islam to the region. Today, two religious traditions 2000-3000 years apart, continue to co-exist in a remote corner of the earth. Watch the short cultural video in RadioFreeEurope/RadioLiberty by clicking HERE or on image below. Next, watch a video of two Canadians, Christian Meier and Peter Gaskill, taking on the remote Pamir landscape on their bicycles.
Video: Ismailis Keep Unique Culture Alive
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Video: Canadians Christian Meier and Peter Gaskill Ride Through the Pamirs
Suggestion: Watch Tajikistan video in full screen mode.
Before departing this website please take a moment to review Simerg’s Table of Contents for links to hundreds of thought provoking pieces on a vast array of subjects including faith and culture, history and philosophy, and arts and letters to name a few.
DISTANCES: Algonquin Park from Toronto, 276 km; from Ottawa, 245 km.
Its been a tough summer for everyone. While we are still partially locked down due to Covid-19, do something safe and extraordinary this autumn by yourself, with your partner or your family with children who have a day off due to rotating classes. Yes, escape to Ontario’s Algonquin Park for a day, and let the magic of autumn foliage bring happiness to your hearts and soothe your eyes. Pick a weekday to visit the Park and drive through its 56 km Highway 60 corridor from the West to the East Entrances (or vice versa). The Park is only 2.5 to 3 hour drive from Ottawa or Toronto.
A tree by a pond at the Aga Khan Park on Wynford Drive in Toronto exhibiting its fall colours on September 24, 2020. Photo: Malik Merchant / Simerg.
Trees at Aga Khan Park exhibiting fall colours on the night of September 24, 2020 under a waxing moon seen in the sky above the dome of the Ismaili Jamatkhana on Wynford Drive in Toronto. Photo: Malik Merchant / Simerg.
Fall colours are already visible at various locations in Toronto and Ottawa (see two photos, above). So what is it like in Algonquin Park, as of this final week in September of the Covid-19 year? According to the official website of The Friends of Algonquin Park, “Sugar and Red Maples are off to a quick start with their fall colour change in Algonquin Park as a result of shortening daylight length, recent frost, and below freezing conditions….the maple canopy (tops) and forest edges are showing the best fall colour in Algonquin Park.”
The colours are expected to brighten in the coming days, and the 2020 foliage promises to be as fabulous as it was when Nurin and Malik Merchant spent a full day in October 2019 at the Park! Click on the link to see their report, photos and guide of how you can spend a beautiful day at the Park in 2020. And what about the impact of Covid-19? The guide has links to that information, and they tell you what is closed in 2020, based on their fabulous visit a year ago! Really, other than the Algonquin Art Centre every other place along the 56 kms corridor they drove through is OPEN, but do pick up a weekday as Nurin and Malik did!
Click HERE or on Photo for Day Trip Suggestion to Algonquin Park
Date posted: September 25, 2020 (photos of foliage at Aga Khan Park on Wynford Drive in Toronto added).
