I love Montreal but…

I was born and raised in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. I can say that I have spent all my life here except for six months. Coming from parents that emigrated from India to Canada, makes me a first generation born Canadian Indian in this country.

Having said that I have lived pretty much all my life here. I can confirm that I do love this city. I have no regrets that my parents chose this city over thousands of places we could have ended up in the world. Life is expensive here but if you work hard, and save some money, you can go far.

My parents came here with almost nothing. I saw them working long hours. Sometimes even on the weekends, and overnight shifts. I am thankful that this city gave a chance to my parents with no college degree, make a living, and provide a good life to their kids. 

I credit my parents to have sent me to post high school education. Not only I was the first one in the family to go past high school, I also obtained a master’s degree in economics. I am working today for the Bank of Canada.

I was born about the time when this new bill came into this province where kids of parents that did not go to English school, kids of those parents, could not attend English speaking schools. It got mandatory for those kids to attend French schools. My parents were not happy. On the other hand, it was about politics and history about Quebec and the rest of Canada. The Bill 101 is a bill to protect, enforce, maintain the French language as the primary language of communication in this province. When I was about ten years old, I was upset. Upset that I barely spoke English. Barely wrote in English. However, from television, and a few friends during my childhood, my comprehension of the English language got better. After my high school, kids born under this bill, could attend post high school education in an English Institution. That was my chance after high school to attend cegep in English (level between high school and university that last 2-3 years). After cegep, I went to McGill University. The great thing about Montreal, is that likely, if you are born and raised here, you will become bilingual and master French and English by the time you are 20-25. For me, it was a blessing to have started my school life in French and to have studied it closely for twelve years. Due to the fact that it a difficult language to learn, I have no regrets today that I went to French school first, then rest in English. So, on top on knowing French, English, I speak also Hindi and Gujrati. 

For those not familiar with Canada. Particularly, Montreal, and the province of Quebec. We have four seasons here. The toughest one is winter. Each season lasts officially three months. But…here…winter is like a five-month season. It is just unbelievable how long it feels like. Long nights, short days, the cold, the snow, the silence at night…you wonder if this is the same place in July. Spring feels like it is a two-month season, and well as fall. My major issue is parking during winter. Why? I will tell you why. Because I do not have a private parking, no driveway, and no garage. Guess what? I shovel and remove all the snow around my car. I leave for work. I return home in the evening. Guess what? Someone has taken my spot!!! I hate that! One advice. Never ever buy a house with no private parking. Never rent an apartment that does not provide private parking. Otherwise, you will regret the time spent shoveling and looking for a parking spot close to your home.

About this city. What makes is special? The majority of its people speak two languages. Especially the younger generation. We live in a very multiethnic metropole. People of all nations and religions. We are unique in that sense. And…one of the rare places in North America, where the majority speaks French. People from all places around the world converging to Montreal. What does that make? Multicultural cuisines around the city. The different flavors and recipes. Oh my God! You can taste and visit all these restaurants. 

Hockey and the Montreal Canadiens. That is religion here. It has been for over a century. We take hockey very seriously. Now, seeing the Habs winning the Cup in 1986 and 1993, I was a great fan of the team. You can say that the Bleu Blanc Rouge are equivalent in MLB to the Bronx Bombers. There is one thing that really make me cringe is fans who keep saying that this is the year the Canadiens will win the Cup. I am so frustrated about how the top management of this team has mocked the fans and are still doing it. For me, the turning point was when in December 1995, a rookie coach and general manager, decided to trade away their star franchise player for peanuts. Can you guess the consequences? The team has not only no win the Cup, not even an appearance in the finals. The day Patrick Roy was traded, I ceased rooting for this team. And, I have no regrets. Why? The city is still waiting for a Cup. This is the Curse of the St-Patrick you can say. Pretty much like the Curse of the Bambino to the Red Sox that lasted, of course, 86 years. The Canadiens are at 28 this year. The worst, the Bell Center is a full house at every game almost. The ticket prices keep rising, but for some reason, you still have blinded fans to fill up the building, game after game. The owner must be laughing out loud literally. Money is pouring in and the team does not need to win championships like in the past. This really frustrates me. However, I got to love a new team because of this horrible, one sided trade. The Colorado Avalanche. This year, if no one is injured, I am hoping to see a Cup in the Mile High City. I really despise the Habs but I do love their rich past history. So much hate, that I hope they don’t win a Cup for a full century.