Gurpreet:

While we’re on the corner here, if you look up at the street light posts again, you’ll see some more beautifully designed banners. To tell us more about the process of creating the banners is Jag Nagra, a graphic designer turned illustrator, who is inspired by her Indian roots

Jag:

My name is Jagandeep Nagra, or Jag as many know me by. I grew up in the suburbs,
not surrounded by many south Asians outside of my own family. Coming to Punjabi market as a child and suddenly being submerged in a sea of color and community felt like a homecoming in many ways. It was a way for me to connect with and recognize my history. It was a place where all of my senses woke up, and a place where decades later, I would feel the same energy connection and wonder that I did as a child.

The two banners I designed comprise a phulkari pattern and a peacock. Phulkari is a traditional embroidery from the Punjab region of India, where individual stitches create bold, colorful patterns. And much like a phulkari, what makes up a community is the weaving of individuals. Thread by individual thread is intertwined to tell a story, One that connects us all.

Sharing our respective cultures’ rich history of pattern making and weaving, and our connection to nature, Together, Debra Sparrow and I were able to create a series of banners that soar side by side in the market.

Debra:

Roadways in the world today replaced the rivers that were the roadways of the past. Where people congregated for food and gatherings in Musqueam. The old people tell of a story of a two-headed serpent making its way through the waterways, leaving behind lilies. Over the past two centuries, the stories have disappeared deep into the bottom of the river. Only to emerge in a vision by Isaiah Sparrow.

After the story was related to him, it was an honor to have such a young man follow his history. Bringing back stories that are never ending and important for the places we live.

The geometric designs reflect the blanket patterns woven by the Musqueam women, and are as old as time. The modern designed birds are filled with Salish elements. Like us in this modern day world, we adapt to.

The colors are in keeping with Jag’s, and her amazing reflection of her history. Both as ancient as time, we walked together on this land.

Gurpreet:

Thank you Jag & Debra.

We’re not done with this intersection yet. It is the most famous corner of the Punjabi Market after all, and in July 1993, Vancouver's Punjabi Market was officially recognized with bilingual signs in English and Punjabi, the first of their kind outside of Asia.

When they were first installed in 1993, they were met with racism as some felt they were “dividing the neighborhood”. When the signs went up, community members supported the use of bilingual signs, but disagreed and condemned the designation of the 3-block area as the Punjabi Market. They argued that the name wasn’t representative of the mix of different ethnicities residing in the area. But, the signs remained and they continue to beautifully grace the streets of the Punjabi Market.

The market also features street engravings on the pavement, so keep an eye out for them as you are walking up and down the sidewalks.