Website: Jasmine DCosta

From banking to writing is a big shift in thinking and security -- banking is a secure money and numbers occupation and creative writing is full of words,  imagination and financial insecurity.  Jasmine DCosta wrote a book, a collection of short stories 'Curry is Thicker than Water' using her childhood background in India as the setting.  She read a part of one story about an elephant in traffic and aksed the audience to participate in the story by repeating some phrases, adding to the noises of a crowd as in the story.  It was an interesting way to do a reading with audience participation.  With the crowd in the Gladstone Hotel's 2nd floor, and not enough seats for those standing, it was a fun night.  It was also webcast live on the internet.  Indian Canadian culture is bridging between India and Canada through language, Bollywood movies, food, yoga, and other aspects which are becoming accepted by other groups into the mainstream.  English is a common language which all the immigrant and ethnic groups learn in schools, libraries, community centers, media, and at work.  To speak and write it well is a feat that has to be mastered by those aspiring to write and reach a wide audience.  The skill and imagination should help towards success in the mainstream competing with all the other Canadians.  To get attention from the other cultural groups, one has to be better than the average.  'Slum dog Millionaire' won Best Picture among 8 Academy awards in the USA so stories about India can be interesting to the North American market.  This success can inspire other writers and filmmakers to pursue the creative careers.  To focus on the positive parts of a culture and promote it to the public can be a challenge but rewarding if it does its job.  Publishing and broadcasting reaches the masses and books and films can uplift the readers and viewers, regardless of what original backgrounds they come from.  The other published writers who read after DCosta have also their own stories to share and we should listen to others to broaden our minds within a multicultural and international framework.