‘Super’ by Lindsay Pereira traces Punjabi migration hopes and struggles abroad

The protagonist dreams of boating at lakes like Lake Ontario in Canada, away from the streets of Jalandhar. pic courtesy/wikimedia commons

Journalist, mid-day columnist, and novelist Lindsay Pereira's (below) third novel Super (Fourth Estate, HarperCollins) traces the life of Sukhpreet Gill, a young Punjabi from the village of Chukhiara, who lands up in Jalandhar and carries a dream of a better life in Canada. As he prepares to leave, we are made privy to the lives of his cousin Deepanshu, who works as a food delivery boy in Toronto, and Harneet, who is looking to apply to universities in Canada and the United Kingdom. Meanwhile, in Toronto, Maynard Wilson, an unemployed Caucasian, is on the brink of facing eviction.

A view of Bartan Bazaar in Jalandhar. Pic Courtesy/Travel2Pro on YouTube

The four lives are connected by the fear of an uncertain future. With a startling opening chapter, Pereira's book deals with the stark distinction that lies between the illusion of prosperity promised by a foreign land and the reality that pushes one to their limits.

He reveals, "I stumbled upon a report about a funeral home based in Toronto in 2018. They work with the repatriation of bodies of Indians who passed away in Canada." These belong primarily to the Punjabi community. "In 2018, they sent eight bodies back; by 2022, that number had risen to around 33," he tells us. Having worked as a journalist for over two decades, he says, "This felt like an important story, and no one was talking about it. There are stories about violence perpetrated on immigrants and an anti-India sentiment in multiple countries, but this felt very tragic."

He recalls watching a documentary on the CBC around the same time, where a Punjabi spokesperson of the Naujawan Support Network estimated that it can take 74 years for the average Punjabi family to pay off a year's tuition. "I thought there was something wrong with that figure. It was a bit of a shock because it meant that there were a large number of Indians who were making this move, mortgaging their family homes and land, primarily for economic migration and what they thought was a better life." Additionally, he had been reading about the difficulty of survival in North America, if one were not financially well-off. These collectively triggered him to write the novel.

The choice of Jalandhar as a location is crucial as a large section of the immigrant population comprises Punjabis. They make up 2.6 per cent of the total population of Canada. "I was born and raised in Mumbai. While growing up, we didn't see a significant amount of advertising pushing us to migrate to Canada or the UK," he says. This, however, isn't the case in Punjab and Haryana. A large sum of marketing funds is spent towards targeting communities comprising young individuals trying to make their way through life. Commenting on the predatory nature of such schemes, Pereira argues "When you're vulnerable, everything starts to look like a really good idea."

Lindsay Pereira

Two voices stand out: Sukhpreet and Maynard. While Sukhpreet's offers a gentle and poignant perspective, Maynard's stands in sharp contrast. The latter's anger about a changing Canada erupts from micro-aggressions into larger consequences. However, Pereira's perceptive eye allows the reader to sympathise with Maynard's situation without condoning his actions.

He reflects, "I have nothing in common with any of these people. Because it's so challenging to write them, you can step away as a journalist. When I was 19, I was on the crime beat for a short time. There you're not trying to engage with what you're seeing; you have to offer a neutral perspective and let the reader decide." For the four characters in the novel, Pereira adopted a similar approach. He believes that when multiple points of view are presented without judgment, the reader has a participatory role and does the heavy lifting that the writer leaves for them.

At the same time, Pereira's novel is a testament to the hard work done by the writer in connecting disjointed links, distilling one's research, and humanising a story

Available Leading bookstores & e-stores
Cost Rs 699