My Families Environmental History
July 6, 2023 By: Rosie Chandi
My parents and grandparents emigrated from India to Canada in the 1990’s. In this paper, I will focus on my grandparent’s story from my mother’s side along with my mother’s story because they represent my childhood and how I was raised. With that said, my grandma will be mentioned but the details of my grandpa’s side will be elaborated. My grandpa is the third youngest out of twelve siblings and my mom is the youngest out of eight siblings. My grandpa and mother were both born and raised in Punjab, India in a small village called Kotli. My grandpa and mother both lived through World War II and when asked how the experience was, my mother quickly replies with how scary and daunting that experience was and how they were all terrified as a family. She remembers cuddling up inside with her siblings and parents, hiding in their homes, and praying that they were safe. My grandpa also lived through WWI and through the war between Pakistan and India and for someone having experienced so much, I often remember him as the happiest man in my life.
During this time, India constituted of small villages with farmlands and with little city development. Roads were not constructed, and the main source of transportation was by walking, bicycling, or motorcycling. Generators were used to supply electrical power when the power was disrupted, which was quite often. The heat supply wasn’t great during the cold months and there was no source of air conditioning. Houses were completely constructed with cement to support hot conditions. My mother’s family had their own cow and goats that supplied the family with milk, cheese, butter, and manure, which was used for farming and fires. They had a vegetarian diet and lived off the crops that they grew and the diary that was produced by their animals. My grandpa worked at their wheat and chili farm and my grandma took care of the children, the cooking, and the house. My mother and her siblings were expected to wake at the early hours of the day to tidy and clean the house prior to going to school. They then walked hours to get to and from school. Fortunately, India has developed in these circumstances now. For example, there are better commuting conditions, more use of cars, better production of food, better education systems, but overall, it is still an underdeveloped country. Consequently, the conditions in which my mother grew up in reflect and have a direct impact on how she raised my two siblings and I, often being in survival mode and with the outlook of being in lack. They grew up in poor conditions and to put it into perspective, they were only able to afford one piece of clothing per year.
At the age of 30, my mother and father had an arranged marriage in India and emigrated to Canada to meet her older siblings who were given the chance to relocate here first. When asking my mother on why she came to Canada she says, “I came here for a better life”. Life is certainly better here but I wouldn’t say it’s any easier. My family’s socioeconomic status remained in the lower-class and had an impact on how I was raised. I was born a year later after my parents married and soon thereafter my grandpa and grandma arrived to Canada to care for us grandchildren. I briefly recall being raised by my grandparents, but I am grateful having given that little chance. Being raised by them is the reason why I can communicate fluently in Punjabi and have a deep appreciation for my culture.
I was born in New Westminster, raised in various parts of Surrey and moved to Panorama Ridge about five years ago. From my childhood, I recall Surrey’s landscapes consisting of small houses with wide lawns, trees on every property, and houses that were typically only two-stories. My mother often tended to her vegetable garden where she grew tomatoes, green peas, cucumbers, and radishes, and we had a cherry tree that my cousins and I would often climb as children. Cherry trees are symbolic of my childhood and take me back to a time where I felt the most freedom. Growing up I remember our summers being consistently hot and winters being extremely cold with consistent heavy snowfalls. Times have changed and global warming has made a tremendous effect on our weather. A childhood memory that I recall from my elementary school days were discussions around climate change.
We often had presentations and guest speakers come to our classrooms to share the importance of conserving water, eating less meat, recycling, and taking action to save the planet. Being introduced to the subject of climate change at such an early age helped me become aware and act for the health of the environment. Throughout high school I joined in on community clean-ups and was involved in doing presentations just as I was growing up seeing in elementary school. By taking daily action in my life and being a voice for the planet, I know that my habits will continuously have a positive effect on the environment. I have a deep appreciation for nature and the planet, what a beautiful place we get to call home. I believe this is something humanity lacks, the appreciation of nature, its impact, and what it offers us. For humanity, I believe its important to find a balance of our human needs and the care for the planet that we get to live on.