The Canadian whose kids were made in India

Nadir Patel at Taj Hotel last week. Pic /Canada Consulate

Nadir Patel, Canada's High Commissioner to India, was only nine when he first stepped foot in India. As both his parents were born in Gujarat, he flew in to Mumbai with his brothers to meet their extended family, for the very first time. It was August in the early 80s, and for a kid who had never left Canada, the first few moments here came as a shock. "I vividly remember getting out of an Air India flight. As soon as the doors flung open, I felt this incredible wall of heat and a smell of a different country," Patel recalls, adding how eventually this two-month-long holiday in Mumbai and Gujarat gave him the most amazing memories to cherish for life.

Watch video of Nadir Patel, High Commissioner of Canada to India who speaks to Mid-day

Fast forward to a couple of decades later, in January 2015, Patel was appointed Canada's High Commissioner to India, Ambassador of Canada to Nepal, Canada and Bhutan. Now, with his tenure drawing to a close, Patel made a quick trip to Mumbai last week, for a final address to his colleagues here. Caught amid meetings, first with Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis and then with subordinates from the Canada Consul office in Mumbai, Patel still manages to take out some time to see us at the Taj Mahal Palace Hotel. With the neighbouring ballroom filling up fast by those who have come to bid him goodbye, Patel says he is stoked. But one can tell the mixed emotions he is going through as we begin talking about his five-year stay in India. Agreeing to this thought, he says, "Anytime I am in Mumbai, it is very special. A part of it is because it is a unique character-filled city; another part is the culture, food and warmth of the people here."

When Patel flew in to India with his wife, Jennifer Graham, to take charge of his post, he felt a lot had changed since the 80s. "The first thing you notice is a world-class airport in Mumbai. You also cannot miss the airline regional connectivity ecosystem, which is now third largest in the world," he shares. But being well-versed with the local language and the Indian culture did not make the journey easier. "No matter how prepared you are, every posting for anyone has its ups and downs. Many High Commissioners before me, who did not speak Hindi, turned out to be successful. So you don't have to be of Indian origin to become successful. But it certainly is an asset. I understood a joke in Hindi or could speak to the Prime Minister in Gujarati; I also understood the regional dynamics, the food, etc."
But there were challenges, nonetheless. "The infrastructure in India remains a work in progress, the air quality in Delhi, where I am deployed, is a huge concern. Also, my job requires a lot of stamina as you are busy with a lot of visits and visitors," he adds. "When you are a part of the Indian diaspora in Canada, you learn how much Canada embraces diversity. Anyone in Canada can succeed in any position. Therefore, I put extra pressure on myself because I knew I had to do a good job here just as I had done back home."

Patel, recently, trekked to the Mt Everest Base Camp to promote bilateral relations between Canada and Nepal. When asked what's his biggest achievement here in India, he says, jokingly, "When Prime Minister Narendra Modi says Make In India, I decided to make two babies in Delhi. That is probably my biggest contribution here." Continuing on a serious note, he adds, "On the work front, trade, investment and people-to-people ties hit record numbers in 2018. And that continued to thrive this year. The commercial relation between the two countries has grown over 60 per cent in the last five years. Trade is up by 60 per cent and investment is skyrocketing from seven billion dollars to 37 billion dollars, most of it contributed by Canadian investors here. Tourism is up by 90 per cent and education relations have quadrupled in terms of the number of Indian students in Canada."

But his biggest achievement is the high-level engagements between both the governments during his term. Patel informs, "PM Modi came to Canada in April 2015, making it the first time we had a standalone visit by an Indian Prime Minister in Canada in 40 years. In 2018, Canada Prime Minister Justin Trudeau visited India. I think the political relationship building has been great in the last few years."

But Canada, he says, is now focussing on areas apart from trade. "We want to expand now in areas like arts, culture, fashion, literature, films, and sports."

Now that Patel is returning to Canada, he says he is never going to bid goodbye to India. "While it is always good to be back in Canada, we will always stay connected to India. Our kids are born here, it cannot be more special than that. India will stay in us forever."

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