Tuesday, May 23, 2006

dastaar


I washed my hair. So that's not a big deal, isn't it?
But after washing i rap a towel round my hair. A white towel.
And that is the closest i ever come to wearing a dastaar.
Sometimes i make a real dastaar, i know how to do it. But the reactions of people make me shy and unsecure.
I still do not have the strength to make this step, against the stream.
Even when i was in India i did not wear it. The sikhfamilies i stayed in, did not encourage me in any way (the ladies were wearing chunnies)

So here i am with my white towel, feeling great as long as i stay in.
I feel taller, have more grace (that's what i hope anyhow, because it feels like that), having more dignity. I walk differently like this. Restrained.
I feel i look like a sikh.

Waheguru, is it very wrong to ask something for myself?
Please give me strength one day? Please!

3 Comments:

Blogger SikhsRus said...

Home is a good start. If I may suggest, it may be easier if you wear one to attend a Sikh women event where Sikh women wear dastaars such as a Sikh women's camp, Gurdwara, or another gathering of Sikh men and women who wear dastaars. It is hard at first but after a week or so things or other people's opinion don't matter. You know in your heart what you as a person are and what you stand for. That is all counts. Actually, it is more the person than the other people. You would be able to stand among millions with a turban on.

Tuesday, May 23, 2006 8:13:00 PM  
Blogger Prabhu Singh said...

I think it is harder in India to stand with a turban and in full bana! Even the Punjabi people that I saw in full bana got extra looks.
I get stared at everyday, I'm just accepting it as part of life. I'm not interested in changing anything, so it's what I have to deal with.
You have a great attitude (reverence) for the turban and that is very admirable. Manjit Singh makes a good point, baby steps may be the best approach. Good Luck!
Sat Naam.

Tuesday, May 23, 2006 8:53:00 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Don't worry, Manpreet. As we say here, "Baby steps." (-: One day you will put on a dastaar, and that will be it Dastaar every day. :-D

Here in the States, there is a new towel product made by a few companies specifically to help dry hair. They are very absorbant, so I have two. The brand I have is called a "twirly towel," but one brand is called "towel turban." You put it on with the button in the back, twirl your hair in the main part, then attach the cord onto the button. It really does look like a kind of turban.

I'll take a photo of myself in it today after I shower and post a photo. (-:

Saturday, May 27, 2006 6:48:00 PM  

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