Diaries

Bhai Arjan Singh Chand was an active member of the pioneer South Asian Canadian community. In his numerous roles with the Khalsa Diwan Society at Vancouver’s first Sikh Temple, he was at the centre of the religious, political, economic and social life of the community. And this diary reflects this diversity. Started in the early 1920’s, it includes day to day accounts of the Temple Committee, anecdotes about life in Vancouver, funds raised for charitable causes, pictures of the historic Second Avenue Gurdwara, and first hand accounts of the Komagata Maru Shore Committee. Penned with his careful hand, this mix between the official life of a Temple executive and the everyday chronicles of an astute historian make this a valuable (and rare) document. We have also provided a selection of English translations of anecdotes, stories, events and historical moments to make the diary more accessible to a wider audience. You can click on each item thumbnail below to see a larger version. At the bottom of the larger version is a link to “View Details”. Here you can find a higher resolution version of the item, see detailed bibliographic information and view the multiple pages of diary. For certain pages of the diary, hover over particular parts of the page to see its connection to other documents and events.

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