- by Anne Finlay-Stewart

Sunday afternoon in Owen Sound. Over tea and pakoras in their west side living room, we were enjoying the hospitality of Magesh Doraisamy and Anshul Anand. The couple, both physiotherapists, and their seven year old son Pratyush are settled in to work and school and church here in town. "We are now officially Owen Sounders," says Anshul with a smile.

The couple met at Christian Medical College in Vellore, a city of half a million in the South Indian state of Tamil Nadu. They were eager to share the story of the progressive medical college and hospital. Magesh grew up in Vellore where his mother worked at the hospital, and Anshul came from the north of India to study at the highly respected school. They do not speak each other's mother tongues – their common language is English. In India they say they likely would likely not have been together as a single family like this; wives generally move in with the husband's family.

So how did they come to be here in rural Ontario?

Magesh's father worked all over the world and came home with stories of his travels. Magesh said that he too craved stories to tell, but he wanted to bring his family along with him for the adventure. On his desktop is one of his favourite quotes, "A big ship is perhaps safer in the Harbour, but that is not what it is built for."

The couple spent four years in Malaysia where Magesh worked at a clinic and taught at a university college. All the while, he was preparing to write the American exams so he could work as a physiotherapist in the United States. That is where they were headed until Anshul began to find out more about opportunities in Canada. With a big smile she says, "When I learned about Canada, I knew I could make it my permanent home." Magesh grins – he knew she would get her way.

Their credentials were verified and they passed exams so they could both work as physiotherapists in Ontario.

Their first stop in Canada was St.Thomas, where a friend had arranged a few months of work in a clinic. They arrived in July and awoke to a beautiful sunny summer day. On his first day on the street, Magesh was accosted by a woman who wanted to know if he had just come to Canada to drive a cab and live off government benefits. He stopped to talk to her and explained that they intended to work at their professions in Canada, to pay taxes and contribute to the community. The next day the same woman was knocking on their door, offering to take them to the thrift store for anything they might need.

Both Anshul and Magesh now work for Closing the Gap Healthcare in Owen Sound. Magesh works in the community and at Georgian Bay Physiotherapy Clinic in Meaford as well. "Clinic work suits me. If I'm not running, I don't feel I'm really working," Anshul says with a laugh.

"We have told our friends that we have found Canadians to be accepting and polite," Anshul declares. Magesh agrees, "There is a willingness and openness to encourage integration here, from the government level to the community." They have enticed two other families to come to Owen Sound, filling professional gaps that local health care employers have been struggling with for decades.
These newcomers are already having babies - "adding to future school enrolments", Magesh laughs.

These are educated, English-speaking professional adults and yet they found it challenging to find the resources they needed as new members of the community. They hope that as more newcomers arrive, these needs will be filled.

Magesh and Anshul are active in their church and have regular gatherings at their home both with church members, and with Owen Sounders from India who want to enjoy celebrations from back home.

But they are eager to get more involved in the community. "We want to give to our city,"Anshul says. "This is our home."