Balbir Kaur Bains' Story
- Balbir Kaur Bains
- Yuba City
- INDIA
Balbir Kaur Johl was born on November 21, 1941 in Jandiala, Jalandhar, India. She had heard of America because her great grandfather Tuly Singh Johl had immigrated to America in 1906. Her father, Kartar Singh Johl, came to America in 1948, when she was seven years old, on an education visa and attended Chico State. He returned to India because his education visa had expired.
Balbir attended an all girls private preparatory school Kanya Maha Vidyalaya in Jalandhar and graduated in 1958, recieving her bachelor's degree in Humanities, with a minor in Social Sciences; Political Science and History in 1960. She then went on to recieve her credential from Montgomery Guru Nanak College of Education in Jalandhar in April 1961 with an emphasis in Hindi and Punjabi.
Balbir had an arranged marriage to Baldev Singh Bains, whose father was sponsored in America by her grandfather, Tuly Singh Johl. When Balbir married Baldev, she traveled to the country where her grandfather lived, her father had been educated, and her siblings had settled. The two were married on February 2, 1963 in Jandiala, Jalandhar.
Balbir arrived in America in October 1963, traveling from Jlandhar to New Dehli to Honolulu to San Francisco. Initially, she had to learn to adjust to a life without servants and learn how to manage a household. Once this was accomplished, Balbir wanted to obtain a teaching position. However, the state of California department of education did not honor her Indian teaching credential. Therefore, she began taking courses at Yuba College in 1966 and transferred to California State University, Sacramento where she received her teaching credential in 1968. Balbir Kaur Bains was one of the first East Indian female teachers to teach in the Sutter/Yuba County area. Her first teaching job was at Franklin Elementary School in Yuba City, teaching second grade in 1968. She really enjoyed teaching and introduced the students to the Sikh culture and food. She because a citizen of the United States on August 28, 1967.
Being a well educated and respected woman, Balbir was considered to be someone who the Sikh community, especially women, could turn to for help and assistance in adjusting to life in the United States. Her daughters recall, "As children we remember our house was always full of people. Our mother was a very giving, talented, and amazing woman. She had time to provide cooking lessons to new immigrants so they could adjust their Indian menus using American ingredients. She had also learned some American dishes as well from Mrs. Buckley, the landlord our dad had purchased his land from. She passed those dishes on to the other Punjabis in the community. Our mom known to make time to help those around her. She would accompany women to doctor visits to help translate, provided transportation, assistance in purchasing household items, taught them how to pack their children's lunches, and translated letters written in English. All this while she ran a typical Indian household where she managed all of the household duties, making every meal from scratch, sewing our clothes, and knitting our sweaters. As a peach farmer's wife, her summers were spent in the orchard, and the rest of the year she was teaching full time.
"Being an immigrant was difficult at times, especially when discrimination was on the rise. People were not open to differences but our mother made sure we retained our culture by learning our native language of Punjabi and interacting with the Sikh community. Even though she was a teacher in America and was fluent in English herself, we were not allowed to speak English in our home. Our mother wanted to make sure we learned and knew about our heritage and about our Sikh religion. She taught us the Punjabi alphabet, the names of the Gurus, and a daily prayer we said before we went to bed each night. Our mom knew we would learn English and would succeed. She was right. All four of us graduated from college. Unfortunately our mother passed away from leukemia in 1983. She left behind four daughters, Kamal, Sarbjit, Jas, and Ravi. Now that we are all mothers, we wonder in awe how she was able to accomplish all that she did. Not a day goes by that we do not think of her. "
Even though so much time has elapsed since our mother passed, we are always surprised and deeply touched that people who knew her or were befriended by her, still remember our mother, Balbir."