Born in Port Dickson, Malaysia in 1940 to a Punjabi family, Andy Sidhu came to visit his friend in Vancouver in 1974 after hearing how beautiful the city was and decided to settle here. He has been living in Abbotsford with his family since 1976. Initially, he struggled to find a job and started working on a farm field in Fort Langley. After working on the farm for 1.5 year, he was hired as a bookkeeper in the office of Canada Farm Labour Pool. Eventually promoted to the post of manager, he worked in the office for 20 years before the office shut down in 1995.
After his retirement, he started thinking about starting a bilingual, bimonthly newspaper, Patrika which would help people from both English/Caucasian and Punjabi communities to learn about each other. The first issue was published in October 1996. In the initial days, he, his wife, and his children worked very hard to set up the newspaper. Today, Patrika is in 26th year of its publication and continues to receive love and support from the community. Sidhu also emphasized the need to teach Punjabi to children and give young people more opportunities to participate. Currently, as of 2023, he is serving as Chancellor of the University of the Fraser Valley.
Short Promotional Video (with English subtitles): Why do you publish your magazine “The Punjabi Patrika” bilingually? ਤੁਸੀਂ ਅਪਣਾ ਪਰਚਾ “ਪੰਜਾਬੀ ਪੱਤਿ੍ਰਕਾ” ਦੋ ਭਾਸ਼ਾਵਾਂ ਵਿੱਚ ਕਿਉਂ ਕੱਢਦੇ ਹੋ? تسیں اپنا پرچہ “پنجابی پتریکا” دو زباناں وچ کیوں کڈھدے ہو؟
Full interview, Part 1
Full interview, Part 2