A close friend of renowned Punjabi singer couple K. Deep and Jagmohan Kaur, Chagger – who came to Canada from Ludhiana in 1975 – says he performs marriages as part of his social duties
The Canadian Bazaar
MISSISSAUGA: As minister of religion, Prithpal Singh Chagger of Mississauga has perhaps solemnized more marriages than anybody else in the 905 region.
“I have been solemnizing marriages since 1980 and my tally is almost touching the 2,000-mark,” laughs the 84-year-old Chagger, sitting in his cozy little office at his residence in Mississauga.
Plucking a register from a pile of documents and quickly flipping through its pages, he says, “Here is the first-ever marriage that I solemnized on November 1, 1981. I have filled five to six such registers documenting all the couples who tied the knot under my supervision.”
Also addressed as marriage registrar or the reverend, Chagger is one of the oldest marriage performers in the 905 area.
Why did this known community leader, who trained as an engineer but later become a successful financial professional, choose this unusual work of supervising marriages?
Explains Chagger, “I have been a community activist since I landed in Canada in 1975 and solemnizing marriages is part of my commitment to society. In the 1970s and 80s, I was in charge of five Punjabi schools in the County of Waterloo. At that time I also served as president of Sri Guru Singh Sabha in Cambridge as well as general secretary of the Golden Triangle Sikh Association in Kitchener.”
Over the decades, Chagger has solemnized all kinds of marriages – interfaith, interracial, love marriages and arranged marriages.
What is the most memorable marriage that he ever solemnized?
“I performed a very unusual marriage in July 1987. I was in Niagara attending the Knights of the Round Table Conference of Prudential of England when I got a call from Toronto from someone telling me that a boy was being deported to India. They wanted me to help stop his deportation by finding a suitable girl ready to marry him.”
Chagger says he drove from Niagara to Toronto to help that boy. “I spoke to a friend’s daughter and told her that this boy is being deported to India. He was doing law and I told the girl that he will be the most suitable boy for her. The girl agreed and I solemnized their marriage the very next day. The boy’s deportation was stopped. It turned out to be a great marriage as the couple have lived happily ever since in the GTA.”
And the most interesting marriage he solemnized?
“It involved a Sikh couple. The boy came dressed as a warrior with a sword and a dhal shield. It was some fun,” he says.
Chagger charges $250 for each marriage. “I solemnize marriages in gurdwaras, temples, churches, mosques, convention halls, or even at my place. I have married some couples at my place and also held marriage parties,” he says.
Did he get any certification to become a minister of religion?
“Yes, you need certification from the Ministry of Consumer and Commercial Relations. They vet you before giving this role.”
Chagger says his job involves filling up the form in the presence of the couple, seeing them garland each other and then getting their signatures.
What if something goes wrong during the marriage?
“Yeah, it happens. Sometimes parents want the marriage to be stopped at the last minute. But I tell them that it cannot be stopped.”
Post-marriage, he says he advises couples to get their priorities right. “The first thing I tell them is to become financially secure.”
A friend of the famous Punjabi singer K. Deep and his wife Jagmohan Kaur, Chagger says he is an accidental Canadian.
He says he and K. Deep ran a chit fund company – called Lalkar Financiers And Chit Fund Company – in Ludhiana and collected lots of money from people in the early 1970s.
“K. Deep wanted to use that money to make a film called Kudarat De Sab Bande. But I told him to be careful because it was people’s money. So he decided to get rid of me.”
How?
“K. Deep suggested that I should emigrate to Canada and he and his wife Jagmohan Kaur would follow me. I applied for immigration and got it in 1975. However, before leaving for Canada, I decided to end my partnership in the company. K. Deep gave me a plot of land in lieu of my share in the company. When I went back to India in 1980, Deep’s company had gone bankrupt but the value of my had plot tripled,” he laughs.
Chagger says April 11 in 1975 was the most defining day of his life when he landed in Canada.
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