The lintel of the Uppals’ home on McKinley Drive is adorned with the image of the elephant-headed Hindu deity Ganesha.

“It signifies happiness, prosperity and good luck,” says Ken, ducking his head slightly under the dangle of tassels, beads and mirrors to enter the house.

Just inside the front door, on a table to the right, is a framed picture of his wife Pria during a recent trip to Disneyland.

At the top of the stairwell which leads to the living room is a painting of Guru Gobind Singh - the 10th spiritual leader of the Sikh faith.

Before sitting down, Ken goes off to check on his 13-year-old son Arshdeep who is on the PlayStation downstairs.

Ken, Pria and their son moved to Abbotsford eight years ago – part of the growing number of skilled immigrants moving to the community.

“We locked our house in Chandigarh, parked our car and came here,” says Pria. “We came here and we had a plan A – and we worked that plan – we never had a plan B.”

Their seven-bedroom home is a far cry from the single-room basement suite they lived in when they first arrived.

Within a year of arriving, Ken was off to the University of Guelph (UofG) for two years to secure his MBA in agribusiness and economics. But first he spent eight months getting “practical experience,” doing manual labour in berry packing plants, nurseries, greenhouses, and dairies around Abbotsford.

“He was milking cows in January,” says Pria

While Ken was at school, Pria, who has a masters and PhD in chemistry, paid the bills with work as an inspector in the food processing industry and by taking on contracts with colleges around the Fraser Valley.

Ken has no regrets about having to go back to university to obtain his second MBA.

“I was a banker in India. I’m a banker here,” he says simply of his drive and ambition.

Ken had focused his work around agribusiness in India too.

This city’s strong agricultural industry was one reason the couple chose Abbotsford when immigrating to Canada.

Pria’s sister also lived here.

However, the number one reason they came here were the opportunities Abbotsford could provide them.

When he finished his studies back east, a bank in Toronto offered Ken a job. He decided against it and is now a manager with Farm Credit Canada.

“Abbotsford offers me a lot of opportunities not available anywhere else, and housing is more reasonable,” he says.

“I knew I’d be better off in a community that is growing.”

“We also thought we could grow with the community,” adds Pria, who now works with W.J. Mouat Secondary to market its adult education programs.

Weather was also a factor, Ken says with a laugh, pointing to a picture of himself on the UofG campus with snow up to his knees.

There’s even a geographical feature that helped make Abbotsford their true home. In India, peoples’ cultural history flows from living alongside a river, says Ken.

Pria nods in agreement.

“In India, people always ask you what river you grew up near,” she says. “We also want our son to be able to say, ‘I have a river... it’s the Fraser.’”