Crocheted gratitude
Peeyush Agnihotri
This kudi from Jammu is on a wave…errr…on a weave in Canada. I mean both. Minu Bhatia, an RJ, who rides air-waves for profession, has crochet-weaved 800 sq ft (20 ft x 40 ft) of Canadian Flag. For size comparison, this hand-woven flag, weighing 60 kg, is more than one-fourth the size of a tennis court. Born and brought up in Kathua, Jammu, Minu did her master’s in human development from India. She and her family immigrated to Calgary, Canada, in 2010. In Calgary, Minu hosts a hugely popular Bollywood-themed programme, Red GeetMala, on a South Asian radio channel, RedFM.
As an immigrant, Minu and her family did face initial settlement challenges, but gradually things started to fall in place. By 2015, she became a Canadian citizen and in 2016 her second-born arrived in this world. The way she and her family were made to feel special during the oath-taking ceremony and later, when her pregnancy-related logistic issues were deftly handled by hospital staff, she reflected hard on reciprocating. An idea of gift of gratitude was born along with the child.
“This country gave me so much. Safety, security and most of all, care, comfort and warmth. It was time to give back,” Minu says. She conceptualised a gift where she could lend a personal touch — a hand-knit woollen Canadian flag that exuded each of those heartfelt feelings.”
Minu started on the flag project in July 2016, one small step at a time. Planning it was a challenge. “I had to choose the right shades of red and white for the flag. For three or four months, I shopped both in person and online and finally came across the right shades. This was important as wool is dyed for colour and sometimes it is not possible to get the same yarn in different batches.” Two years down the road, in July 2018, she finished it off, carefully weaving the intricate patterns, painstakingly stitching them. “I made the flag in nine pieces, with the maple leaf part woven as a single entity. It was arduous but am happy that I could do it in one go, without reknitting any of those pieces,” she adds smilingly.
Finding time to do this was also a task. “Any spare time on hand would go into crocheting. Whenever I felt overwhelmed, I would just tune into some Bollywood music. In fact, my husband, daughter and infant son were all so supportive. They knew I was on to something special.”
Her workplace has been supportive too. The staff at her radio station plans a public event in the coming months. As far as the journey of the flag goes, Minu plans to showcase it at Alberta Children’s Hospital first. But would that be the ultimate destination? “Actually no. My plans are to donate it to the Parliament Hill as this flag is also symbolic of the profound feelings of an immigrant. A feeling of gratitude, indebtness, warmth and safety in the backdrop of initial settlement challenges.
