Pritmohinder Dhaliwal

Date of Birth:
1936
Birthplace:
Village Chak no. 530, Narangwal, Pakistan
Current City:
Abbotsford, BC

Pritmohinder Dhaliwal was born on January 1, 1936 in village Chak number 530, Narangwal, Pakistan. She moved to Canada on January 22, 1958 after she married her husband Gurbaksh Singh Dhaliwal who was already a Canadian citizen. Pritmohinder Kaur remembers that when she landed in Vancouver, she saw a lot of lights and found Vancouver to be a big city. She was well prepared for her change in setting from India to Canada because she had learned about the world through her education. 

Upon her arrival to Canada, Pritmohinder was received by her uncle, relatives, husband and mother-in-law at the Vancouver airport and they all traveled to Mission, BC after that. Gurbaksh Dhaliwal (her husband) owned a trucking business in Mission and so they continued to live there for ten years after which they moved to Surrey in 1968. She worked at K-Mart when her younger son went to school and continued working there for thirty years. She also took cashier courses in Vancouver to learn how new machines work.

Pritmohinder Kaur recalls that that she felt quite lonely in her initial days in Canada, but later her brother also immigrated to Canada in 1960 which helped to alleviate the loneliness. Pritmohinder Kaur and her husband did whatever they could for the education of their children and wanted them to mix and get along with other communities as well. They wanted their children to have a Canadian experience and not feel inferior when living in Canada. There was also an instance where Pritmohinder recalls her surprise to see other women in the gurdwara wearing dresses and covering their legs with the dupatta or other cloth.

According to Pritmohinder Kaur the Indian weddings in Canada were very simple as compared to those in India, as rituals such as “mehndi” were not performed then. Pritmohinder has made ample friends and connections in the past thirty years and is very happy for her life. She frequently visits India with her children and wishes well for her children and their future.