Gulzar Nanda only wants one thing for his east Vancouver neighbourhood: To be remembered.

He hopes a small public plaza dotted with turquoise picnic benches and flanked by a bright yellow mural featuring Indian sweets will be one more step toward that dream.

Opened earlier this year, the side-street plaza at East 50th Avenue and Main Street sits in the heart of the Punjabi Market, a strip of roughly three blocks where South Asians first settled and grew businesses in the city. Nanda was raised here in the 1970s, among shops selling gold, sweets, silks and spices.

“All the things we needed for our celebrations,” said Nanda.

Nanda still lives in the neighbourhood, even as most of his generation have moved to Surrey and other areas.

“The streets were our playgrounds,” said Nanda. He nods

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