The Tribune Turban Article
Dastar or turban is the pride of the Sikh community — a symbol that sets it apart; a symbol of honour, courage, and reverence for the Sikh Gurus and their teachings. Tying the traditional 8-metre turban needs a deft hand, as the soft 3×4 copy muslin is swiftly folded and neatly pleated around the head. The younger generation of Sikhs, especially in foreign lands, is not familiar with the technique; the reams of cloth can be challenging. And this is where Manjit Singh Ferozepuria comes in, to lend a helping hand. A turban wizard, Manjit Singh can tie his turban blindfolded, precise to the minutest details, in 22 seconds flat. Not just that, blindfolded, he can also tie a turban on another head. What pushed Manjit Singh to it, however, has its genesis in an unpleasant experience. “It happened one day when I was in college in 2010. A friend, Baljinder Singh, poked fun at me while I was tying my turban before rushing for the classes. He called me a paindu Yankee (villager attempting to look western). I was deeply offended, following which we had an animated discussion on the legacy behind the turban as a symbol, bestowed by the 10th Guru, Guru Gobind Singh, on the Khalsa Panth,” says Manjit Singh, who is much-sought-after by the Indian community abroad to teach their children the art of tying a turban. “I went through a lot of inner turmoil. I thought I should do something to carry on the legacy of dastaar as a symbol of spirituality and self-respect. I quit studies after my graduation from DAV College, Bathinda. There has been no looking back. I got a lot of local support from youngsters who were interested in carrying a neat look. I made my passion, my profession. Ironically, I also tied the turban of Baljinder Singh on his wedding,” chuckles Manjit Singh. Hailing from Malluwala village in Ferozepur district, 25-year-old Manjit has been holding such classes in Singapore and Malaysia to teach Sikh youths how to tie a turban. He will be travelling to Europe this month to hold workshops in various countries. A whopping 7.8 lakh follow him on his Facebook account. “People these days,” says Manjit Singh “are experimenting with their turban, unlike earlier times when the shape of a turban was associated with particular communities. There are nearly a dozen ways to sport a turban. I am good at Pochvin, Patiala Shahi, Amritsar Dhamala, Chand Tora Dhamala and Patka Keski styles. I get requests for weaving the knots for the headgear of Hindu grooms as well, besides requests from youths to give them the ‘Bhagat Singh look’ on special occasions.” Manjit Singh hogged headlines in local newspapers when he tied a turban straddling two motorcycles during the international kabaddi match hosted by the Punjab Government in 2013. For this, the crowd gave him a standing ovation. Manjit Singh has also taught Anantvir Singh, son of Punjab Deputy Chief Minister Sukhbir Singh Badal, how to tie a turban,
International Turban Events
I am going to share about a person which is the one of the great personality in sikh culture and traditions. His name is Sardar Manjeet Singh Ferozpuria ( International Turban coach). Now I am going to share about his Europe tour where he spent 2 months over there and he wants to share some joyful moments. First of all he wants to thank Sardar Balwinder Singh Gurdaspuria How is a great fan of Sardar Manjeet Singh and was following him through social sites (facebook, wikipedia, youtube etc) and he Was influenced By his turban art and sponcered him to europe as a turban trainer to develop the growing sikh culture in europeon countries…
Germany Gori BoyNow i am going to share about his journey, He took flight from IGT Delhi on April 5th to Germany Dusseldorf Airpot. He was welcomed by Sardar Balwinder Singh and By his Sew friends. He started his first Turban Training Camp on April 7th Augsburg City Germany. Lot of youth came to join training camp even they were Not sikh people but they Were inspired and influenced by sikhism and took part in the camp. Camp was organised at Gurdwara Singh Sabha(Germany). He organised camp over there for 3 days and lot of fans from india and other different parts of europe influenced from this camp And More Over That Manjeet SinghGot 50 Thousant Likes in a single day of the camp and got invitation from many other countries of europe . He organised his next camps in Munchen city at Gurdwara Nanak Sabha, Frankfurt city at Gurdwara Sikh centre, Kolon city at Gurdwara Shabad Parkash, Asenberg city at Gurdwara Nanaksar. Sardar Manjeet Singh and Sardar Balwinder Singh was honoured by Gurdwara parbhandak society Nanaksar,Asenberg.
Sardar manjeet Singh further organised his turban training camps in Austria, Poland, Holland, Spain, Belgian, France. On the behalf of Sardar Kulwant Singh Khalsa he organised a special turban training camps in Italy and when he Had arrived at Rome airport upto 100 youth was waiting for welome in Italy. First camp in Italy was organised at Gurdwara Singh sabha, Flour city and other camps were organised at Gurdwara’s Kilgidhar, Guru Nanak Dev Ji.
