By Lucy-Claire Saunders
They could easily be mistaken for a family. It would not be hard to imagine, even though they come from all over the world.
But they speak with such ease around each other, and such honesty, that it quickly becomes clear why they work so well together — on and off the TV screen.
The cast of Afwahein, or Rumours, are all unpaid volunteers but their passion for the show’s topic is infectious.
Rumours are something that every teenager faces. They are a part of daily life — dodging drive-by gossip or targeted lies. Often in the cutthroat world of high school, the choice is simple: Either start a rumour or become a victim.
The TV show, which is broadcast nationally on the Asian Television Network (ATN) in Punjabi with English subtitles, is the brainchild of Archana Harit, a human resources employee with the University of B.C.’s psychiatry department.
From her decade of experience working with young patients, Harit has a wealth of knowledge to draw from. Her fictional show is set in a public high school but is based on real problems that the South Asian community faces in Metro Vancouver, from gossiping neighbours to generational clashes.
But really, the young characters in her show could be from anywhere. The challenges they face, whether it be at school or with their families, are largely cross-cultural. Harit is quick to point out that ‘Afwahein’ means the same thing in Urdu, Punjabi and Hindi.
And although a lot of the material for the series comes from Harit’s research, it is her 17-year-old daughter, Amika, who provides much of the inspiration. High school can often be a twisted world. Like Alice through the Looking Glass, not everything is as it appears.
And perhaps high school can be an even trickier minefield to maneuver for first generation students — those who are born here to immigrants.
"The teenage years are the most difficult for first generation kids because there is a different set of cultural codes that are set up for them at home," says Harit. "But when they are at school, they mix with other ethnic cultures so then all of a sudden, there’s a new Canadian code. As a result, there’s always a conflict going on and so they start leading dual lives."
"Betwixt and between" is how anthropologist Victor Turner described the phenomenon in the late 1960s. It is as true for teenagers leaving childhood and becoming adults as it is for first generation Canadians. With one foot in the past and one in the future, they must constantly explain to their parents how things work here — like how Canadian girls are allowed to date.
"In our community it is strictly not acceptable for girls to date," says Harit, who is originally from Calcutta. "I am fairly liberal but there are still some things I will not tolerate."
"But the more parents say no, the more kids do it," replies Amika, an Enver Creek High School student in Surrey.
Although Ella Vyas, who plays a mother on the TV series, admits she lets her two sons stay out as late as they want, she will only let her daughter stay out after 1 a.m. if she calls. Vyas’s daughter is 21 and studies in Montreal.
"She knows that when she comes back to visit me she has restrictions," says Vyas, 55.
Sitting in Harit’s Surrey living room, the cast of Afwahein laughs at Yvas traditional ways. They understand her protective nature but say when they have children they will not subject them to the double standards they grew up with.
Indeed, witnessing their parents struggle to pay the rent even if they are highly educated in their home country leaves some of these young adults feeling like there is a glass ceiling that’s difficult to break through.
"The issue is that people might be very intelligent but because of bureaucracy that is imposed by the Canadian government, they are not allowed to use their full potential," says Ismial, who plays a high school teacher on the show.
"There is such a gap for someone who has studied all their life but now they’re cleaning toilets. There’s something wrong with that."
Mainsh Sudiya, who grew up in Surrey, plans to move to India when he is older because life in Metro Vancouver is expensive and unfair to qualified immigrants, like his father.
"My dad was a doctor back in Punjab," says the 24 year old. "Now he takes care of senior citizens at a nursing home. And he had to get certified for that."
And even school grades, which are highly valued in the South Asian community, are starting to be questioned by the younger generation. "Grades tend to lead to a better future but how many stories have we heard about someone who has a bachelors degree and works in the mills?," asks Jaspreet Anand, 30, who plays the class clown.
Like Sudiya, Anand also contemplates moving back to India when he is older.
It is clear that while previous generations have looked to the West for better opportunities, those who have grown up with them see a future home in India, where wealth is increasingly attainable for the western educated go-getter.
Add new comment