Turban | | Page 2

A boy in a turban during the Sikh Turban Showdown at the Sikh Foundation of Virginia in January. (source: PBS)

Sikh Foundation of Virginia holds “Turban Showdown”

March 13, 2013 by Rupinder Mohan Singh

A recent piece by PBS’ Religion and Ethics NewsWeekly featured an event at a Gurdwara in northern Virginia in January called the “turban showdown”: In January, the Sikh Foundation of Virginia held a “Turban Showdown” for the pre-school children and older youth of its gurdwara in Northern Virginia. Parents helped the children wrap their turban or keski and then watched them walk down a runway. Youth and education coordinator Surinder Singh explained the meaning of the turban and why it […]

Categories: Sikhism, TV/Movies • Tags: Fairfax Station, PBS, Religion and Ethics NewsWeekly, Sikh Foundation of Virginia, Turban, Virginia

Leave a comment

Screen shot of Patka Spotting, a website designed to poke fun of Sikh men who wear patkas.

For I have seen the patka on your soul

February 26, 2013 by Rupinder Mohan Singh

Making its way through social media today is a website called Patka Spotting. According to the website: Patka Spotting was created for the sole purpose to shout out all the guys in our community who are just too old to be wearing children’s patka’s around and about. A patka is the head-covering commonly worn by Sikh children — mainly boys — before they adopt the full turban as adults. Much like a bandana, a patka is a small piece of […]

Categories: Reflections • Tags: bullying, patka, Patka Spotting, Turban

Tiglath-Pileser III, king of Assyria in the 8th century. (source: Wikipedia)

A hitchhiker’s guide to the turban

January 9, 2013 by Rupinder Mohan Singh

The blog A Kaur’s Thoughts presents an interesting condensed survey of the global history of the turban, beyond its relevance to the Sikh faith: By, “…1000 A.D., the turban had evolved from a strictly utilitarian piece of clothing into something used to connote nobility and power,” said Brannon Wheeler, associate professor of Islamic studies at the University of Washington, (2). “Just as shoes evolved from a practical foot covering into an item of clothing that reveals a person’s class and […]

Categories: Resources • Tags: A Kaur's Thoughts, history of the turban, Turban

Leave a comment

Gunpreet Rekhi's turban collection (source: The Fine Young Gentleman)

Turbans as fashion

December 6, 2012 by Rupinder Mohan Singh

On the style blog The Fine Young Gentleman, Gunpreet Rekhi discusses how he expresses his fashion sense with his turban: With every passing year, my collection has grown larger and larger (see photo above). I’ve acquired somewhat of a reputation for matching my turban to my outfit. More often than not, the matching will be obvious. Sometimes, I’ll have more fun with it and match the turban colour to a more discreet pattern (e.g. polka dots) or item (e.g. a […]

Categories: Style • Tags: Fashion, Gagan Singh, Gunpreet Rekhi, Jean Paul Gaultier, The Fine Young Gentleman, Turban, Waris Ahluwalia

Leave a comment

More than just ethnic bigotry: Sikh articles of faith and women

September 27, 2012 by Rupinder Mohan Singh

Much has been written recently about the case of Ohio college student Balpreet Kaur. When her photo was surreptitiously taken and posted to the website Reddit as an object of mockery, her response to this demonstrated so much grace and eloquence, that she instead became an inspiration to many — so much so that even the person who originally posted the photo apologized. Balpreet Kaur is an inspiration, and her situation provides a learning for many of us Sikhs and […]

Categories: Reflections • Tags: Balpreet Kaur, beauty, Facial hair, Inderpal Kaur, Reddit, Turban, uncut hair, Women in Sikhism

Leave a comment

Women who wear turbans

August 31, 2012 by Rupinder Mohan Singh

An article in the Seattle Times discusses women who wear religious head-coverings in the United States. A Sikh woman who wears a turban, Inderpal Kaur, narrates her experiences when she first began wearing it: “I was very nervous; not sure if my friends would accept me this way,” she says. “But my dad told me, ‘You stepped into this path and you have to put your trust in God. He won’t let you down. Don’t worry about it.’ “ While […]

Categories: Profiles, Sikhism • Tags: Inderpal Kaur, Seattle Times, Sikh women, Turban, Women in Sikhism

Reader: Sikhs should abolish the turban

August 12, 2012 by Rupinder Mohan Singh

A reader writes: SSakal – The question of the turban as an identification mark of a Singh/Sikh is the key. Guru Gobind Singh created Khalsa and gave them 5 ritual markings to carry as an identification: K – Kes (long hair) K – Kanga (comb) K – Karah (bangle) K – Kashera (underwear) K – Kirpan (dagger) Here lies the Truth. The Guru has never dictated, advocated or commanded His followers to wear a sixth article: T – Turban D […]

Categories: Hate Crimes, Sikhism • Tags: Dastar, Gurdwara, Guru Gobind Singh, hate crimes, hukamnama, Oak Creek, Rajdeep Singh, Sikh Coalition, Turban, Washington Post, Wisconsin

"Clockwise from top left: Filippino Lippi, The Dead Christ Mourned by Nicodemus and Two Angels, detail; Jan van Eyck, Self-portrait or Man in a Red Turban (1433); Dürer, Portrait of Michael Wolmegut (1516); Adam Kraft, Self-portrait detail from the Eucharistic Tabernacle (1493-6) in St. Lorenz, Nuremberg." (Source: Every Painter Paints Himself)

More on “Man With The Red Turban”

July 28, 2012 by Rupinder Mohan Singh

In response to my recent post “Why is this man wearing a turban?“, friend and colleague Lori Way writes: I liked your recent post about Jan van Eyck’s Man with the Red Turban. The turban was, at that time, considered commonplace for artists to wear. Not only did it keep artistic media out of one’s hair while in the studio, but it also came to be known as a status symbol. Here is a website that has a little more information […]

Categories: Art • Tags: Europe, Jan van Eyck, Lori Way, Man With The Red Turban, Renaissance, Turban

Leave a comment

When profiling begets more profiling

July 6, 2012 by Rupinder Mohan Singh

Meeta Kaur writes an article about the scrutiny of Sikh turbans at our nation’s airports and the latest on the FlyRights app that allows submission of TSA-related complaints via a smartphone: [Sikh Coalition Director of Programs Amardeep Singh says] “When Sikhs are pulled aside for extra scrutiny in the most security sensitive area in the United States (airport security), that act by the federal government reinforces stereotypes that people already have of Sikhs. If the object that is most feared […]

Categories: Civil Rights • Tags: FlyRights, Meeta Kaur, Transportation Security Administration, TSA, Turban

Leave a comment

Considering the experience of Sikhs in America.

Tag: Turban

Sikh Foundation of Virginia holds “Turban Showdown”

For I have seen the patka on your soul

A hitchhiker’s guide to the turban

Turbans as fashion

More than just ethnic bigotry: Sikh articles of faith and women

Women who wear turbans

Reader: Sikhs should abolish the turban

More on “Man With The Red Turban”

When profiling begets more profiling