Rooted and Rising – Season 2 Celebrates the Stories and Achievements of Punjabi Women in Surrey: The journeys, achievements and experiences of immigrant Punjabi women took centre stage at Rooted and Rising – Season 2, a community storytelling event held on September 17, 2026, at City Centre Library in Surrey.
Organized and moderated by Dr. Reetinder Kaur, Project Director at the UBC Kidney Transplant Research Program and an Instructor in the SFU Department of World Languages and Literatures, the event was presented as part of Punjabi Women’s Storytelling Week.
The City of Surrey proclaimed September 13–19, 2026, as Punjabi Women’s Storytelling Week, recognizing the importance of creating opportunities for Punjabi women to share their voices, experiences and stories with the wider community.
Rooted and Rising – Season 2 continued the vision established during the first event: creating a public platform where the stories of Punjabi women could be heard, appreciated and passed on to future generations. The initiative reflects an effort to recognize the contributions of Punjabi women while also acknowledging the challenges, adjustments and personal transformations that can accompany immigration and the process of building a new life in Canada.
The second season brought together accomplished women from different professional and community backgrounds, offering attendees an opportunity to hear about their personal journeys and the experiences that shaped their careers and lives in Canada.
The panel featured Maninder Grewal, a banking professional and community builder; Parvind Grewal, Director of Data Systems, Informatics & Analytics at BC Transplant; Baljinder Kaur, a media personality; Jaspreet Sidhu, a media personality and radio host; and Sukhjeevan Sandhu, a licensed psychologist.
Through their stories, the panelists highlighted the different paths Punjabi women have taken while establishing themselves professionally and personally in Canada. Their experiences also reflected the importance of remaining focused while being willing to learn, adapt and seek support along the way.
The discussion emphasized practical lessons including learning new skills, building strong networks, seeking help when needed and engaging with people from diverse backgrounds. The panelists spoke about how these experiences can help individuals grow, create opportunities and turn challenges into possibilities.
For Dr. Reetinder Kaur, the event provided another opportunity to bring Punjabi women’s experiences into a shared public space. By creating a platform for storytelling, Rooted and Rising seeks to ensure that the experiences of immigrant women are not only recognized in the present but also remembered and shared with future generations.
Rooted and Rising – Season 2 ultimately became more than a panel discussion. It formed part of a wider celebration of Punjabi women’s voices, resilience, identity and contributions to the social and cultural life of Surrey, while highlighting the diverse ways immigrant women continue to shape their communities and build their futures in Canada.
