Gurnam Singh Pamma
Agriculture
Founder, Pamma Farms | Live Oak, CA (USA)
Native& Birth:
Badala Mahi, Hoshiarpur, Punjab (India)
Residence
Live Oak, CA (USA)
Seeds of Hard Work Reap the Fruit of Prosperity
Farming is not a profession but a family tradition for him. Remembering his culture and family ethics, his foremost priority in life is to ensure the welfare of his community and the society as a whole.
Born on 4 May 1950 to Sardarni Gurmail Kaur and Sardar Naranjan Singh in a rather unheard of village in Hoshiarpur, I grew up in a joint family amid a lot of fun with cousins and lessons from the elders. I had three siblings, Surinder Singh, Harbans Kaur and Harvans Singh but the whole village was like one big family. I remember my grandfather and tayaji1 telling me stories of the entire village going to the railway station to bid each other goodbye. So close was everyone to one another that not a single Sikh, Hindu or Muslim died during the partition of India; it was a peaceful time here. Living in such a village, I learned to love and support my neighbours and community.
Success is all about consistent hard work
When I was in school, I lived the best days of my life. I loved tickling Surinder veerji2 and stealing sugarcane with friends from the farms and so would often get late to school. Once in grade 12, the farm owner came to our school following us to complain to our principal. From that day, he decided to take the first class of the day and there ended our morning caper! During this time, some of my relatives moved to England and the USA, all for better opportunities for growth and better family life. I too started dreaming of moving to the USA after school.
With their help, I applied for a visa, which I received in December 1970; I was just three months away from completing my BA. Should I have cared for my graduation or my travel to the USA? Graduation could have meant a lost opportunity to shift to where there were happy lives! I chose travelling to the USA.
Convincing myself with such reasoning, in January 1971, I landed in Yuba City on a tourist visa. Back then I wondered, often doubting, if I’d be able to help myself enough. It’s been almost 50 years since! Within a month, I got married to Surinder Kaur, my bhabhi3, Mohinder’s younger sister. We got the marriage registered on 19 January 1971 though we took the laavan4 in gurudwara on 10 March.
Initially, the memories of Badala Mahi haunted me at nights in dreams. But the zeal to earn a good living kept me going through the day. Working at a local farm for 1.35 cents per hour, I slowly toiled my way to make a living and saved every penny I could. After two years of rigorous labour, I bought my first farm of 120 acres in the year 1973. I had to call my brother, Harbans veerji, here to help me with my new venture. Gradually, our business flourished and we started cultivating almonds, peaches, prunes and walnuts. Eventually, I was able to settle my family in California. However, none of this would have been possible without Surinder’s constant support, who worked in two shifts – at orchids in day and canary at night – and also looked after our home and kids. It was her perseverance that gave me a head start my endeavours.
I have now been in this business for 40 years and have worked even on Sundays to ensure a smooth work flow, never shying away from hard work. But farming does not solely depend on hard work; it is hugely dependant on the whims of nature and also a country’s economic policies. Our business faced a major setback between the years 1981 and 1986. First heavy rainfall and then the recession that struck the USA left us struggling for a few years.
Banished from my motherland
While some of us were trying to survive the atrocities of nature in a foreign land, our beloved Golden Temple, Amritsar, was being attacked. Barely had I recovered from the shock of that disturbing event, the 1984 Sikh massacre happened. Thousands were slaughtered. Every day we read about merciless killings of both Sikhs and Hindus and the irreparable damage to gurudwaras.
Although I was far away in California, I could feel the brunt of the killings. Fellow Sikhs who shared the same sentiments formed the World Sikh Organisation (WSO) in 1984. Its primary goal was to provide a voice to protect Sikh interests across the globe. We sought advice from the United Nations and set up branches in England and Canada. However, the Indian government denied me a visa till 1998 for my involvement with the WSO.
Later when Shiromani Akali Dal came in power, I started getting conditional visas. When I visited my motherland after a long time, like a stranger, I had to state my purpose of visit at the airport; I was asked to report to Hoshiarpur’s Senior Superintendent of Police. I was given two bodyguards who accompanied me to my village and stayed with me as long as I was there. I was told these steps were to ensure that no mishaps occur.
Those were some tough times. Thankfully they are over now and my family is well-settled and owns 5,000 acres of farmland, which we grow together. My children studied from Alvin Cheung, California Northstate University. Sukhraj is an attorney and also assists me in my business. It was due to his foresightedness that even with the changes in American tax rules in 2018, our business flourished. He is married to Jasmeet Kaur. My daughters, Parveen and Rajbir, after completing their masters, are married and working as principal and vice principal, respectively.
Sewa is the only religion of every Sikh
I always believe that all my achievements are because of Akal Purakh5. And whatever he has blessed me with, I should pass it on to the community. With this belief, my family and I contribute to as many community services as possible. From the time I came to California, I have been an active participant in contributing to the gurudwaras. Being the founder Chairman of Live Oak Gurudwara, I have organised a lot of events and games to encourage the Sikh community, and donated 11 acres of land on which new temple is being built. We are all up and active for the development of the new Live Oak Gurudwara with our heart, mind, body and pockets.
I believe that whatever you become once you grow up is because of the ethics and culture you see and learn while growing up. Staying abroad, it was one of my major concerns that my children do not lose their Sikh identity. But I shouldn’t have worried because I had Surinder by my side. She looked after my entire family really well and ensured that the children value Sikhism. Over the years, she has also assisted me in promoting Sikh culture in this foreign land too and it’s our immense pleasure to see this country accepting and absorbing its essence as their own. We now have schools in our area where the government teaches Punjabi.
I believe that children should be exposed to more elements related to their culture in the form of films, music and arts so that they can grow up experiencing their culture. However, the youngsters today, are busy on their gadgets and games that do not offer any learning. If you ask me, smart-technologiesare more a plague eating up the intelligence of our kids.
Philosophy
It is only with hard work and the Almighty’s blessings that you succeed. And what you gain from His blessings, must be shared with the needy.
I love…
Working for my community and farming.
Success
Give your mind and heart to your work. Leave the rest to the Almighty.
I’d suggest the youth…
To get a professional degree, plan their finances. Control their temperaments and channelise them for betterment. Be grateful to God and be steadfast towards your family.
The world doesn’t know that…
To reach California I had to go via Delhi, Mumbai, Bangkok, Hong Kong, Japan and Dallas. I guess my agent was badly in need of some money and that is the reason he did not book a direct flight!
AKA
California farmer Gurnam Singh Pamma | Agriculture entrepreneur Gurnam Pamma
Gallery
ISBN : 9788193397695