The rain wouldn't let up long enough on Sunday for Sikhs to enjoy a dry procession marking the 309th anniversary of Khalsa, but Jagseer and Amandeep Malhi were among hundreds who decided they weren't going to let that bother them.
They and their two-year-old daughter, Trish, gamely marched out of the lot of the Sikh temple on Park Road North into the cold, damp air, along with close to 1,500 others.
Earlier, officials had decided there was no sense delaying any longer for a break in the heavy clouds.
After all, it was the Brantford Sikh congregation's largest turnout for the annual celebration, with members of the faith coming from Brampton, Toronto, Hamilton and Kitchener-Waterloo.
The Malhis are a testament to the thriving Brantford-area Sikh community, which now has about 600 members.
Jagseer Malhi, 32, has been living in the area since the age of 15, when he came here with his parents.
"We wanted to come to Canada because it was regarded as the best country in the world," he said.
"If you're willing to work, the sky is the limit. You can make whatever you want of yourself."
He built a career working for IBM out of an office in Waterloo and at home, then four years ago, he returned to the Punjab to find a wife. He met Amandeep twice through relatives and accepted an arranged marriage.
"It has been great and exciting," said Amandeep, now 28.
"It was like a dream in the first few months. I never thought I would come to Canada."
