The CN Tower

My brother took a picture of the view of the sky pod in the CN tower. I

was scared I would fall down! My brother took the picture in 2012. The

view was amazing! At night the sky pod lights up and starts to change

colours. That was a great day for me because I finally went in the CN

tower. The CN tower represents Canadian culture because it is made for

Canadians. I chose this photo because it represents our Canadian culture,

and because it was my first time in the CN tower. I thought I would fall

and die but, this view was just great so I chose this photo. My favourite

thing about the sky pod was the windows were so clear so it felt like I

wasn’t even there!

By Ahmed Farid

The Taj Mahal

This photo is of me and my brother in front of the Taj Mahal. In this

oven-like weather my brother and I are enjoying the beautiful TajMahal. It is

located in Agra Delhi, India. I was about 4 years old, which means the year this

photo was taken was 2007. As my brother and I are smiling, the TajMahal is

shining.

I chose this photo because it’s interesting, and historical. This photo is

important to me because it’s the first photo I took in front of the Taj Mahal and

it was the first time I had been there. This photo represents my culture which is

Indian. The way this photo represents my culture because the Taj Mahal is in

India. The TajMahal is a symbol of love, which Sarjahan made for his wife

Mumtaz. Sarjahan was the king so he ordered all 22 000 contractors to have

their hands cut off, so they could not build the Taj Mahal in another place of the

world. These are the reasons why this photo is important to me.

By A’kifa Bharucha

A Beautiful Mosque

My parents and I have been to many travel destinations. But I chose this photo because of all the love the present king of Abu Dhabi has for his dad. Since he has so much love for his dad he built the world’s most beautiful mosque in honour of his father. Shaikh Zayed Mosque was made out of pure white marble stones, gold, crystals, semi-precious stones, and ceramics. To build this mosque, Shaikh Zayed took ideas from all around the world. For example, he took ideas from Germany, Italy, China, Russia, Pakistan, turkey, Iran, and a few more. This represents my culture because it is a mosque and our family prays in mosques. So that is how this represents our culture. By Ali Jadoon

The Muslim Wedding Day

This picture is important to me because it’s the day my cousin got married, her

name is Anam! In this photo there is my mom, me and my cousin Azmeena. In this

photo we all are wearing Muslim religious dresses. My mom and my cousin

Azmeena are wearing a shalwar cameez, a shalwar cameez is a type of

Indian/Muslim religious dress. In the wedding many people were wearing the same

thing (shalwar cameez). The bride, my cousin Anam was also wearing a religious

type dress but not a shalwar cameez, she was wearing a langah. A langah is a

long type skirt with wonderful designs also a top with the same wonderful designs.

This is why this photo is very important to me!

By Annusha Rehman

A Mosque

This photo is important to me because it is very cultural and traditional for me

and my family. It is a very peaceful and independent place to get some work

done. My photo represents culture because it shows a dome and a minaret witch

most of the time shows that it’s a mosque. Inside the mosque it represents a lot

of culture because it has our holy book (Quran), prayer mats, and classrooms.

This mosque is very crowded on Eid (Islamic celebration). Lots of different people

come and share treats and snacks. At this time lots of people are joyful and really

happy. Something really fun I enjoy is that it has a gym. Sometimes when my

sister goes to teach at this mosque she takes me along, and then her class and I

go in the gym to play games like jump ropes doge ball. This photo was taken on

a very special day I enjoy it was taken on July 29th 2014 [Eid] on Lawrence

Avenue.

By Asma Patel

Indian Culture

I chose this photo because it was taken at my parents’ wedding. Also, a wedding is a

celebration and celebrations are part of culture. Even in this photo my relatives are

wearing Indian clothes that represent culture. My relatives are holding gifts. Gift giving

is a tradition and traditions are part of culture. This photo was taken in India on

March, 14, 1998 (wedding date). The photo is important to me because I was not

born at the time and I only have photos to see the wedding. At first, I was going to

choose another photo but I realized that this photo shows more culture. My photo

shows Indian culture and is beautiful.

By Assiya.Motara

KILA RATAS

An old place from a thousand years ago called KILA RATAS. My photo is a place

where there was a wise king and queen. They lived a thousand years ago, with a

billion of people serving them. I chose this photo because the picture that I chose

includes the same things that we do in my country in a place which was made

thousands of years ago where people used to live. I took this picture when I went to

Pakistan on Tuesday, October 20th 2012. This photo was important to us because the

people who lived there started the Pakistani culture and the Pakistani population

culture kept on growing. This photo represents my culture because this place

represents all the things they did and how they acted. I am standing in a guarded

place where they watched for thrives or other people.

Awais Chaudry

Super Baby

The photo I chose for the contest is about me in my bedroom.

Why this photo important to you is this photo is important to me because it reminds

me of when I was a baby. It represents my culture because this photo was taken in

Canada. It was taken when I was small. It was in my bedroom. It was taken with my

dad’s camera. I was 5 months old. In Canada, babies sleep in their own bed called

crib. In India babies sleep in a traditional swing. In India, kids always sleep with their

parents while in Canada kids have their own bed.

By Ayasha Patel

My Cultural Wedding!

The photo I chose for the Imagine Culture Contest is a photo of my cousins wedding.

It represents Indian culture because everyone in my cousin’s family is from India also

the people from the brides side are from India. It also contains a little Saudi Arabian

culture because the bride is wearing a gown like the Saudi Arabian brides. People think

that the bride is from Saudi Arabia but actually she is from India. In this photo there is

my cousin who is wearing the black suit and he is the groom. This picture was taken in

India, in December 2014 at my cousins wedding. This photo is important to me

because this photo tells people that you don’t always have to be from a culture to

wear that type of clothes only if there is a specific culture that tells you that you have

to only wear certain clothes that is your own culture clothes. This was a very

enjoyable wedding because there was so much of my Indian cultural food to eat also

there were some people I knew from my old school in India which was Nasr school

girls. This wedding was a blast, everyone had fun.

Juveria Khan

Super girls

My photo is a picture of me and my cousins we are all wearing superwomen shirts and

making an s with our hands. I chose this photo because I am very close to both of my

cousins. Me, my cousin Maya, and my cousin Mary are the only girls out of all the

grandkids. There is also my cousin Aisha but she is only 3 and did not want to be in

the picture. The photo was taken in Mississauga in my Cousin Maya’s room. There is

an Annie sign in the background from my Cousin Maya’s play. I went to her house

during the Christmas break. I chose this picture because I think it does a good job of

representing me.

By Khadija Chauhan

Crazy Christmas Tree

Every winter break, my family has a tradition of visiting a place that we’ve never been to before.

This is a photo of me, my mom and my sister posing in front of a giant Christmas tree outside of the

Ripley’s Aquarium. The aquarium is located in Downtown, Toronto beside the CN Tower. This picture

was taken on December 21st, 2014. I chose this photograph because Christmas is very important to

my family and we take it really seriously. This picture represents my culture because the Christmas

tree in the background shows that Christmas is a part of my culture. My brother decided to take

multiple shots of us in that same pose and he actually snapped a photo of me falling into the tree.

Luckily, I wasn’t hurt but I started to feel extremely itchy afterwards. Every photograph has a story

and that’s the story behind mine!

Megan Nolasco

I chose this photo of me praying cause it is my family tradition we do it every single

day. This photo was taken in my house. Why I chose this photo is this something

religious I do. This isn’t the only religious thing I do. I eat traditional food, I also

sometimes wear religious clothing these are some of the religious things I do in my

daily life. I chose praying because it means a lot to me to pray. Praying means a lot

to me because I want my prayers to be heard by ‘god’. My family have been doing it

for many years. I even take religious classes from Monday to Friday because my

family wants me to learn about our religion. We pray before we eat and before we go

to sleep. The second option was a photo of a Mosque cause that is where we pray.

By Mohamed Anas Mohsen

Cultures in my life!

The picture I have chosen includes many cultures that I am in touch with .I am very

lucky to have all these beautiful cultures in my life. When my parents came from India

they brought all the beautiful cultures with them The 3 most important cultures in my

life are Canadian Indian and Islamic culture. My picture represents all these cultures in

a different way. I have all the delicious food to represent India and Islamic culture as

well as the 2 flags. These dishes can date back to thousands of years back when they

were created and have lots of stories to tell. I also have a prayer book open to

represent Islam. Included in my picture is a monument in India. And last but not, least

I have a Canadian flag to represent the land I live. All of these cultures are very close

to my heart. They affect my everyday life from what I eat, wear, pray and where I

live.

By Muniba Lakhi

The Kingdom of Memories

My photo is a mosque and I chose this photo because it is a part of my life and I was

there on the opening and that was a great memory that I had. I remember how me

and my brother played games all the time. The most important part is that I would

always be a helper there. When they were cleaning the place I was there. I was so

attached to the place that I had sleep over there. During Ramadan its really important

for me because I had lots of great memories there. This is related to my culture

because I am Muslim and I should pray to my god each day. The person in the photo

is my bother wearing our religious clothing. This photo was taken over the holidays.

And that is what my photo is about.

By Sufyan Asmal

Fascinating Indian Pottery

Photo: This is a photo of me and my mom during our visit to India in 2012. In the

photo my mom and I (mostly my mom) are making mini clay pots using a process

called throwing with the help of the potter (on the right). In the middle there is a ball

of clay placed in the centre of a turntable, called a wheel head which is rotating. As

you can see, my mom (on the left) is gently shaping the clay upwards and outwards

into a hollow shape with the potters help.

Why I chose this photo: I chose this photo because it represents my culture which is

Indian. Almost 70% of the people in India use these mini clay pots for religious

reasons or to store drinking water. This photo is important to me because since I’m an

Indian I should know how some of the basic handmade items are made. It is so

fascinating to see how a basic handcrafted art is used in people’s daily lives.

By Taiba Dawood

This picture is memorable to me because it was taken on the most exciting day of the

year for Muslims. Eid, A celebration for all Muslims. My cousins are really memorable

to me because they are part of my family. They are also very important and special.

Eid can be celebrated anywhere at any time but we decided to celebrate at the lovely

park which is beside my aunt’s house. We eat delicious mouth-watering foods that

relate to our religion or culture. We are always smiling with our big smiles on Eid. It is

not necessary to wear pretty and fashionable clothes but I decided to wear clothes

that are part of my culture which is Indian culture. I also decided to wear a scarf

because it’s my opinion. You can decide if you want to wear it or not. That is why this

picture is really important to me and my family!

By Zainab Motala

Delicious Indian Food The food I chose is yellow rice with curry. It is delicious Indian food. You can enjoy this for dinner with mango pickles and fried potatoes. This food is important because curry is a dairy product, yellow rice is important because it is light. Also they both are healthy. The Indians have been feasting on this food for generations and generations. The food is inexpensive and easy to digest. Also it requires few ingredients. I took this photo on December 27 2014. I chose this photo because it is really simple to make. Also this food is eaten by a lot of Muslims.

By Zainab Patel