| Description Summary | Pukekohe born Gendo Singh describes the life of her orphaned father, his emigration to Fiji and then New Zealand in 1919 at the age of 15, his work and marriage, her childhood and schooling. She explains the family spoke Punjabi at home and learnt English, her strict upbringing, sports and family life, working in her parents market garden and dairy farm. She talks about her visits to India, comparing her experience of a Punjab village in the 1960's and her home in NZ, her choice to wear traditional clothes and her connection with the Auckland Sikh Society.
Gendo explains her father's community focus and forward thinking, his help in establishing the temple, women's involvement in the Society, the perception of NZ born Indians, the behavioural differences between new immigrants and NZ born Indians and her family relationship with local Maori.
She talks about the Women's Sikh Society group, the Punjabi Culture Group and the NZ Indian Association Women's Group and the difficulty for older Indians integrating into NZ society. |
