A Bit About Me

Generationally, I am influenced both by the boomers and Gen X. I was born in Jullundur, India and moved to Chandigarh when I was four. That wasn't the first change in "home" as I moved to Canada shortly after my 15th birthday. The photo above is us 5, the siblings; I am on the far right, the youngest.

This me at 10. As a Sikh kid, how I ended up with short hair is a long story. I spent my pre-teen years alternating between short and longer hair; a battle between my older sisters and my father. The former wanted short hair, the latter preferred the traditional turbaned Sikh son.

By the time this photo was taken at 13, I had flowing long hair, kept tied under the traditional kids turban worn by Sikh boys. I suppose my father won the battle and my hippie says of long hair tied in pony tails were over I finally had hair long enough to keep them tied under a "patka".

This is my first home. It was an officers bungalow dating back to colonial days in the Jullundur Cantonment where my father was stationed. I don't have many memories of that place but the ones I do, are of a sprawling place in the middle of a military garrison. I visited this home recently, it is still standing strong.

Chandigarh was a pretty neat place to have grown up in. It is nestled right in the foothills of the Shivakik Range, which eventually grows into the might Himalayan Range. Looking up at the snow capped mountains is amongst my best childhood memories. Sadly, air pollution now obscures those peaks completely.

Winnipeg has been home since I settled on the homelands of the Treaty One Nations. From a former colony to one that is still colonized, I am part of the global community of colonized people. Winnipeg has been good to me, I hope to pay it forward to my hosts who have shared their lands so graciously.