Tuesday, April 13, 2010

Thousands of Sikhs return to the fold on World Turban Day

Thousands of Sikh men, each with a unique work of art perched on his head, will take to the streets of India today. Their mission: to prove to the world that the turban is not old hat.

Scores of rallies, prayer vigils and tying competitions will mark World Turban Day, an event conceived amid concerns that young Sikhs are abandoning the most conspicuous emblem of their faith — six to eight metres of cloth wrapped around their heads — in favour of close-cropped Western-style hairdos.

“We are inviting Sikhs who have forsaken the turban to return to the fold,” said Jaswinder Singh of the Akaal Purkh Ki Fauj (Army of God), a Turban Pride movement. “This day is their chance to reconnect with our gurus.”

Sikh men — and some women — have worn turbans since 1699 when Guru Gobind Singh, the religion’s tenth master, prohibited them from cutting their hair. Every man was given the surname Singh — lion — and was required to wear a steel bangle, long cotton underwear, a sheathed sword and wooden comb.

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With thanks : source : timesonline

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