Desi Today Magazine
One day, one of my caucasian friends asked me why myself and all my Indian friends have “Kaur” in our middle name. With great excitement I explained how “Singh” and “Kaur” mean “lion” and “princess.” I went on to explain how Guru Gobind Singh Ji proclaimed that all Sikhs would bare these titles to abolish the prejudice created by the …
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Criminals with a Conscience: Vancouver’s Biggest Thieves Refuse to Steal from Disabled Man
Vancouver police have noticed a great increase in assaults and robberies targeting Vancouver residents, especially those in wheelchairs. They decided to pull a page out of everyone’s favourite cop book as their line of attack: an undercover mission. Police officer Mark Horsley strapped on a wheelchair and headed to five high risk areas in the Downtown Eastside. He told residents …
Read More »What Does it Mean to Be Punjabi? Kids Respond
Hollywood Headlines
Learning to Drive Release: August 21, 2015 Plot: After breaking up with her husband, Wendy (Patricia Clarkson), starts taking driving lessons from Sikh instructor, Darwin (Oscar winning “Ghandi” Ben Kinsley) who is having marriage problems of his own. Together they strike up an unlikely friendship and go on a journey that they never would have imagined. The movie is not about …
Read More »Beautiful British Columbia
Desi Today Readers sent in photos they have taken that capture the beauty within our province. If you would like to submit photos for the next edition, please send them to editor@desitoday.com with the subject “Beautiful BC.”
Read More »Woman Tattoos Own Face to Cover Burn Scars
Basma Hameed: A Pioneer in the Burn World When Basma was just two-years-old, her eight-year-old brother wanted to surprise their parents by making them dinner on a pan with hot oil. His sweet and caring gesture quickly turned into a nightmare for his younger sister. He put frozen meat into the oil filled pan and it quickly caught fire. As …
Read More »Culture De-mystified
During mid 1970s, I did some work on “The Survey of Factors Encouraging and Constraining Citizenship Registration” investigating the issues that would encourage or restrain individuals in the “East Indian Community” to apply for Canadian Citizenship. The project had been sponsored by the Government of Canada. It was a great opportunity to learn about my culture, its psychology and issues …
Read More »A realist and a dreamer : Surrey’s Terri Sidhu sights on showbiz
No established economic or social activity is easy to crack, especially if you’re someone from a “non-mainstream” (read: ethnic) community. But by the same token, Canada’s “non-mainstream” communities are anything but defeatists. They continue to knock on doors, and if those doors don’t open, knock them down. Show business is one of the areas in North America where ethnic aspirants …
Read More »Sight Gifter: Top Vancouver surgeon’s India program cures blindness for hundreds of thousands
If you were to meet Paul Dubord at a night spot, you’d probably think he’s the resident bouncer. The pugnacious, stocky and straight-talking Dubord could easily come across as a Tony Soprano sidekick. But Dr. Paul Dubord is in fact one of the world’s pre-eminent eye surgeons. The Vancouver-based corneal transplantation specialist provides advanced medical and surgical treatments for a …
Read More »Planning A Nagar Kirtan
How Surrey’s Vaisakhi parade gets organized The Vaisakhi nagar kirtan is by far the biggest event held yearly in Surrey. Last year, the event, which was first held in 1999, attracted its largest-ever crowd of an estimated 260,000 people. By contrast, the annual Cloverdale Rodeo, probably the second-biggest yearly bash in Surrey, was attended by 86,000 people. What makes it …
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