I was sat there the other day thinking about how many Sikh’s there might be in the world and if the population of Sikh’s as a whole is evolving. The other thought that came into my mind was how brilliant it is that when you as men you see a fellow Sikh man in the street, you acknowledge each other with that inward nod and go about you daily business. (If you don’t do the Singh nod when you see another Sikh guy then you should start!) So anyway…this acknowledgement of a fellow Sikh male is only able to happen if I know the guy opposite me is a Singh….how do I know this.. He’s wearing pugh (turban) and a Sikh style turban, not an Arabic turban, not the type western ladies used to wear but a pugh, tied in a way where we know , yeah he’s a Singh. Without this pugh I have no exact idea if they guy is Sikh or not… that surely wasn’t the plan was it?
Let me explain…the pugh is a Sikh’s identity first and
foremost, it’s his crown on his head and (loosely paraphrased by me) in and
amongst 100,000 men a Sikh is recognisable by his pugh.
How hard is it to tie a pugh, let’s see in the ‘relaxed’
look at it by JusReign:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i6gBwv4fjDU
Not difficult is it? Takes me about 5-7 minutes a day.
So why are there Singh's out there not wearing a pugh? It
bothers me…our guru’s and warriors like Baba Deep Singh sacrificed their lives
so our identity would remain in tact, forced conversions by cutting a Singh's
hair in those days was a way of breaking down a Sikh identity. Our Guru’s and
warriors fought against it. So today we can continue to be called Sikhs.
So why are some guys walking around and not wearing a pugh?
To look cool? To look attractive? To blend in so they didn’t get bullied or
picked on? I was born in the 70’s lived through bullying and fights over my hair
through the 80’s, I’m proud I didn’t succumb to the pressure of thinking “ to hell
with it, its easier to cut my hair” I have my parents support to thank for that
and the other 2 Singh’s in my primary school for whom we became a bit of a
support group for each other. Our guru’s certainly didn’t think “ah sod it…why fight
and lose our families in war, lets all just cut our hair and forget it”
Going back to it then? Why not wear a pugh if you’re Sikh, this outlines why, to
the letter of the law (so to speak) 4
There's a line in that link about why do some Sikh’s not wear
a pugh, it ends with “Rather
than getting angry, or creating negative energy by judging them, simply bless
them and pray that by the Grace of God and Guru some day they will understand
who they are” Perhaps…but for me it’s not a faith issue it’s an
issue about identity. Surely as a Sikh community we should all do the basics
right? We all wear a kara don’t we? (Steel bangle) so why not a pugh? I go back
to my point maybe its so they don’t get bullied, can look attractive and cool
(really?) or cant be bothered with the hassle? Well as I said before it takes
me 5-7 minutes. There is that issue about attractiveness I think, when I was
being introduced to girls for marriage a few said they didn’t want to marry a
guy with a pugh…I found that abusrd and totally ridiculous. Vanity is such a
poor excuse. If a girls thinking that she doesn’t like a guy with a pugh, she
will marry one with out, if she has a son he will grow up not keeping his hair
and the dilution of Sikh identity will continue. Why should this be the case?
Let’s look at it another way…its ok for guys to go around singing
the praises of Baba Deep Singh, for example, those guys probably do it because
he was a warrior so they feel that he is a strong role model, yes he is…but he
also wore a pugh. If he is a role model then be like him, no point being a
warrior in your own mind but you can’t be strong enough to tie a pugh daily. Check
out all these men who were leaders, warriors and absolute legends. I am in awe of their achievements:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hari_Singh_Nalwa
- If you don’t know who he is, read and feel humble
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Banda_Singh_Bahadur
- Guru Gobind Singh Ji’s commander in chief
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ranjit_Singh
- The Founder of the Sikh Empire
Mesmerising right? Strong Role Models don’t you think? Wore a
pugh you know!
So many bhangra videos of singh walking around with bulging
muscles, pushing the sikh warrior mentality, the strength and courage of Sikhs but
so many of those don’t wear the basic element of being a singh, a pugh. Why? Because
it doesn’t look cool? Silly argument. Why because women won’t find you attractive?
Then you don’t need those sorts of women to give you attention (by the way
plenty women have complimented me on wearing a turban and keeping my hair, colleagues
and friends mostly but they got it, , the vacuous vain ones you don’t really
need in your life right? if they can’t respect you for who you are whats the
point?)
A turbaned Singh can look attractive and stylish. You have
to believe in it. Look at these Singh’s…they look pretty cool (even though some
of them don’t grow their beard but that’s another blog for another day) http://www.singhstreetstyle.com/
In school and college I was often commended by teachers for
wearing a turban, they knew the history behind it, I was once stopped in the Ritz
Hotel and an old English fella looked at me and said “you’re sikh aren’t you,
you are some of the most remarkable people I met while I was stationed in Punjab
during the war” he had no clue who I was but saw my pugh. I got stopped at
Seattle Airport, USA because they weren’t educated to know the difference
between me and a terrorist, when they got over their initial standoffish behaviour
I explained who and what I was and they actually wanted to know more. The most
common thing I get asked by people who I meet for the first time “how long is
your hair”, “Why do you wear a turban” and I take pride in answering those
questions. We all should right??
Look...in conclusion I just had a few thoughts on the issue
and I thought I’d share…it irks me that a sikh guy cant take 5-7 maybe even 10
minutes of his day to tie a pugh and represent the Sikh community we are privileged
to be part of. It’s all well and good saying you Sikh and being supportive of a
community but if you can’t get the basics right, what’s the point? It’s not
difficult and you will get more respect for it too.
To end with I’ll leave you with this link, read it, be proud
in the knowledge that an American white guy wrote this about a turbaned Sikh:
Till next time
No comments:
Post a Comment