In the article, "Haircuts or Turbans" published in
The New York Times, the author, Amelia Gentleman discusses the new generation of Sikh men choosing style over tradition by cutting their hair and abandoning their turbans. Sikhism is based on the belief in one God and the rejection of the Hindu caste system which was founded in northern India during the 15th century. As of today there are eighteen million Sikhs in India and about twenty-three million worldwide. It is mentioned in the article that long hair is a symbol and representation of their Sikh pride, and Sikh leaders have prohibited their members from cutting their hair. It's a problem today because young Sikh men want to stand out by cutting their hair. Today, about half of the Sikh men in India are now letting go of their turban. There are some who are upset about the new trend that is going on. Jaswinder Singh, a lawyer and leader of the turban pride movement stated, "We are going to have to battle hard to turn back the tide. India won't have anymore Sikhs in turbans." A pop star in India, Pammi Bai, strongly agrees that getting rid of the turban is not a good idea. He wears a bright yellow turban and released a single as a part of the turban pride. He sings about the glory of wearing a turban.
After reading the article by Amelia Gentleman, I began to realize how important it is to respect your beliefs in some culture. I was a bit surprised due to the fact that more and more men are getting rid of their turban because Sikhism is a really strong belief to some people. It was also mentioned in the article that some working mothers are feeling "too rushed" to teach their son's how to use a turban and allowed their child to cut their hair. That also surprised me because I would had thought that the mother's would be more strict on abandoning the Sikh pride. In the photo shown below, a Sikh man shows the process of putting his long hair into the turban. As a child of a different culture, there are many similarities that we share. I am Hmong, where our people are located in Laos. When the Hmong came to America in the late 1970's, early 1980's, we carried on our traditions to the States. Hmong mother's prefer their daughters to keep their hair long and black, as a sign of natural beauty. For the new generation, many Hmong daughters are now coloring their hair different colors to follow the trend. Some Hmong mother's don't allow their daughters to color their hair until they are of an older age. Some don't allow their daughters to color their hair at all. I can relate to the men in India who are getting rid of their turbans, as I am a Hmong daughter who did not keep my long, black hair to embrace my beauty in my culture as they wished.
Photo credit - http://imgarcade.com/1/sikh-man-without-turban/
No comments:
Post a Comment