#Sucha Singh Claire

[vancouvertrueborns]

Could one of these turbaned gents crossing Granville and Hastings in 1908 be the controversial Baboo Singh? The Nameless Collective, which does deep dive podcasts on Vancouver Indo-Canadian history, playfully suggests that he was one of these dapper dudes, or, as they put it, one of the original Beeba Boys.

Baboo came to Canada from the Punjab and worked for immigration officials, supplying them with information about political activists. This did not endear him to Ghadr Party supporters in Vancouver who were pushing to overthrow British rule in India. Baboo was also a dodgy businessman, accused of a weapons offense, pocketing somebody else’s money transfer and passing a bad cheque.  

One of Baboo’s lesser known achievements is that he opened the first Indo-Canadian business on a South Van strip, which, 58 years later, became the Punjabi Market.

City directories list Baboo’s Singh Realty Company at Main and 47th in 1912. Perhaps he had a little store front like Enterprise Realty had on Main near 49th in the 1910s. (Sign retouched for emphasis.) Newspaper ads show that Baboo was busy trying to sell cleared lots in the growing suburb. In 1915, he was convicted of forging a signature on a deed and sentenced to a year at Oakalla prison. It is believed that he returned to India after his release.

Today, Sucha Singh Claire (pictured in front of Nurmahal Fashions) is credited with starting the ethnic shopping strip at 49th and Main. He opened Shan Sharees and Drapery there in 1970. The 83-year-old retired merchant still lives in the neighbourhood and the Punjabi Market turned 50 in 2020.

Sucha Singh Claire photo by Christopher Cheung. B & W pics from City of Vancouver Archives.

[diaryofanangryasianguy]

06/27/19

North America's oldest Punjabi Market is fading. Is revival possible?

Next May will mark 50 years since Sucha Singh Claire opened a sari and fabric shop in what is now known as the Punjabi Market, and as this neighbourhood, which locals describe as the first large South Asian market outside South Asia, heads into this milestone anniversary, its future is unclear.

While recent and planned real estate developments in the Punjabi Market will bring new people and money to the area, they’re also the source of concern here. A big new development is more likely to replace long-running community institutions with its construction than make room for mom-and-pop stores in its retail space when it opens.