Settlement

Life is a journey towards eternity and this journey provides us opportunities to visit various places and meet different people. Some of these places leave indelible imprints on our mind and soul and we always long to revisit those places. I got an opportunity and was lucky to be able to visit various places within India and Canada. I would like to make a comparison between my hometown Jalandhar and my current home, in the city of Brampton, Province of Ontario, and beautiful country, Canada where I migrated to, in 2018 as a Permanent Resident. Although both the cities boast their own glory and charm, there are still certain differences between them which distinguish them from each other and at the same time have certain similarities which make me feel less nostalgic.

Jalandhar is an old city in the northern part of India and is one of the largest and most populous cities of Punjab. Like Brampton it is a multicultural city where people of different caste, color and creed have made it their home. Punjabi is the language which is predominantly spoken by most of the population, nevertheless we cannot deny the influence and substantial use of Hindi and English in all walks of life, whereas English is the official language in Brampton, and Canada being bilingual, French, too.

The population of Brampton comprises of people from all over the world and hence one can easily come across a wide variety of languages, dialects and slang. People in Jalandhar are more social whereas in Brampton people hardly find time for get together parties which are generally held on weekends. In Brampton people are more preoccupied with work and find it difficult to chill out and enjoy.

Apart from this, there is also a wide gap of facilities provided by the provincial and state and municipal governments of both the cities. People in Brampton have more facilities at their disposal which are in the form of free schooling and healthcare, substantial old age pensions, well maintained and wonderful public transportation system and so on. In terms of pollution, Jalandhar surpasses Brampton. This pollution is noise pollution, air pollution, soil pollution and water pollution. Moreover, the city of Brampton is better planned for development with reserved areas for different important things in the community; Jalandhar is developed haphazardly and with seemingly no plans.

Despite all the differences and similarities I love both the cities very much.