Lose you turban and I’m outta here
The crisis of Sikh identity was once described to me in very simple terms; most Sikh males no longer want to look like Sardars and most Sikh girls don’t want to marry Sardars. In fact, I distinctly remember several Sikh guys that I went to school cutting their hair for the simple reason of “getting girls”.
Over the past few years, we’ve seen efforts on many fronts to confront this trend, including beauty pageants (Mr. Singh International), Sikh models (Sunny Singh Caberwal of Kenneth Cole and now GQ fame). Now, in a twist on the standard Sikh dharmak or religious song, Taranmpreet has released a track called “Teri Meri Bas: Sat Sri Akal”.
In the video, the female singer/actor Sardarni warns her Sardar “friend”, that he better not think about giving up his dastaar, losing your Sardari, or cutting his beard, otherwise she is out of there. Interestingly, she also does a bit of a Punjabi rap slamming the tendency of guys in Punjab who ‘modernize’ but end up looking like B-grade Bollywood stars, with long slicked back hair, scruffy facial hair, multiple piercings and ridiculous clothing.
The first time I watched the video, I honestly found it a bit disturbing. However, having seen it multiple times (while I did the translation below), I found it growing on me. Like it or not and criticize the superficiality, but I believe that if more Sikh girls actually made explicit their desire to date and marry Sardars, I think more Sikh guys would keep their outward Sikhi long enough to discover the inner Sikhi.
On a random note, here’s two other thoughts I had while watching the video:
1) The song somehow reminds me of Shania Twain’s I’m Outta Here
2) What’s with the guitar girls in the background?
Here are the lyrics:
If you take your turban off your head, lose your Sardari, cut your beard, lose your dignity, then you and I are finished, boy.
If you can’t handle being a Sardar, cut your beard, and ruin your appearance, then you and are I are finished, boy.
Sat Sri Akal
You and are I are finished, boy.
I’m the proud daughter of the 10th Master
A member of the larger than life Khalsa
If you’ve made plans to discard the sacrifice of the Sahibzadas and the wall of the Sirhind,
Then you and are I are finished, boy.
If you can’t handle being a Sardar, cut your beard, then you and are I are finished, boy.
Sat Sri Akaal
(RAP) You cut your hair, you’ve shaved your face, you wear a nose piercing, and ear rings? Waheguru, Waheguru,
Giving up names like Chand, Lal and Ram, the Gurus have given you the name Singh
To the Gurus’ Singhs, people have given the title of King (Singh is King)
Sikhs have been cut limb by limb and given their heads for Sikhi
If you can’t handle being a Sardar, cut your beard, and ruin your appearance, then you and are I are finished, boy.
We’ve been the gift of fearlessness and bravery
Forsaking upper and lower classes, we have all been made equals
Never forget the Khalsa’s legacy
Make yourself worthy of being called a Singh of the Guru
Mother, father, children, the one (Guru Gobind Singh) who sacrificed his whole family, for you his beloved,
If you’re ready to betray him, lose your dignity
Cut your beard and lose your Sardari,
Then you and are I are finished, boy.
Sat Sri Akaal
Why is she wearing jeans and not a suit?
Guru ji approved of jeans when he unapproved uncut hair? My Sat Sri Akal to her and no longer shall I be listening to her songs.
What level would these ppl stoop to for an extra buck? Hypocrites.
oh btw, that previous comment was me.
Indian Sikh,Stop Propagating this distored and malacious comments.
i liked this video. very refreshing from your bollywood influenced punjabi jams.
I really do think there is a huge difference between wearing jeans and cutting your hair….. !
To be honest, I didn’t like it that much but it’s a start… especially guys in India who are “modernizing” .. this may have an effect on them as this Bollywood style is just down their street.. however I can’t really see it being a massive hit in the UK…
Now I’ve seen everything.
I must confess I am really a Hindu who hates this site, and will do anything to undermine the Sikh faith, its ideology, and its “brainless long-haired” adherents (especially those devious Khalistanis and so called “human rights” activists.)
Vande Mataram!!! Jai Hind!
teri maa di fudi
I’m not Sikh or Indian so I don’t know if my opinion means anything to you, but I am a female and I’ve seen SIkh guys in turbans that I thought were handsome. Also, I don’t think that guys wearing turbans are any uglier than guys with beer bellies, or guys who wear their pants hanging off their butts, or those hippie white guys that look like they haven’t showered in ten years.
Basically my point is: Wearing a turban doesn’t automatically make you ugly, and not wearing one doesn’t automatically make you attractive.
Still trying to make up my mind on the video, but I do like the overall message. Equally as relevant though would be a song/video on men encouraging women to retain their Sikh identity. Any MCs or video producers interested in taking that on?
Why doesnt the admin block this ‘Indian sikh’ aka bajrangi’s email id so that his bigoted messages doesnt appear on the board. Well, bajrangi, this one’s my last message here and I wanna ask you if you are getting roiled then please dont blame sikhs, muslims or christians for that. And yes, you are a true Bajrangi, take pride in that
….oh yeah yeah, just last thing to remind you for any uniformed or baised opinions that you might perceive about me. I am not a keshdhari, hardly perform sikh rituals and am just a normal sikh by feelings.
veer harpreet its easy to say that you are a Pakistani isi agent who have been on there payroll and have been told along with khalsa Sikh and kaur and the other minority to just create an anti-indian propoganda,and i would rather like to call you preet Mohammad……why don’t we all go to the jakara confrence and give our views there,all the sikh brothers sisters and kids who were killed in 84 operation blue star were from our religion oh sab meri kaum de bande c jini shaheedian ditiyaan,but i and the entire 20million population of punjab hold both indira gandhi and sant bhindrawele responsible for there death…..you go to punjab today ask people there and they are both blamed for there role in the massacre of punjab and its people.
its easy to call someone a bajrangi or narangi the same way its easy for me to call you preet mohammad….but then its going to be a never ending story…and the admin singh was right to point out the fact that we are deviating from the actual issue….jakara conference is coming up and in my view lets get together there if we can and put our view forward at the conference….if i was in the states i would have deinately come there but i will still try to make it there if i can……..no matter what our opinions are end of the day we are Sikhs one religion ek kaum.
rab sab nu khush rakhe
SARBAT DA BHALA MANGO MERE VEERO
JEET SINGH KHALSA
are you serious an indian sikh….i mean are you a hindu who was trying to portray yourself a sikh……if its true then this is a big shock for me………..but then i can understand your situation that why you did all this….if i find out that a hindu site is creating a massive anti-sikh anti punjab propoganda then i would not sit quite and probably do the same what you did….i am a sikh and proud of that and certainly did not like the following words you said about sikhs.
“and will do anything to undermine the Sikh faith, its ideology, and its “brainless long-haired” adherents (especially those devious Khalistanis and so called “human rights” activists”
eventually by uttering these words you are justifying some of the words being said by khalistanis…..i would say hate can never kill hate.
grow up
Jeet Singh Khalsa:
That was someone faking my ID. I thought it was plain obvious. So I never bothered to rectify it. It’s so easy to do that on this site. Therefore, I bow out of here. There is no point trying to talk sense.
Take care.
Anju
My last post was this:
http://thelangarhall.com/archives/3116/comment-page-1#comment-16469
Anything that is posted after that is not me except the ones stating that I am out. Just wanted to clarify on a last note. Cheers.
To “Nobody Special” above – love your comments. Your sentiments ring true.
Thanks.
an indian sikh please get in touch with via my mail id londonwondon@hotmail.com
there are so many other site which are not biased and provide a well balanced discussions,plz e-mail me to acknowledge that you have got my mail id.
i think this site is good as well coz at least they don’t wipe you msg but its just a tiny minority of misguided people who do not represent the entire sikh community who come to this good site and do say all sort of thing.
Jeet Singh,
In the interest of fair discussion, can you point all of us to those sites too?
personally, i don’t like the video…i feel it oversteps the mark, esp the fact that it promotes having boyfriends & girlfriends.
This is not the right way to promote Kes
Not Good!!!
These blind nationalists and patriots are just BLIND or hypocrites. BEING INDIAN IS TO BE HINDU. The propaganda of highest order being run by RSS. You got it or not I dont care and I simply dont care a damn about the comments of bajrangis per se.
Biggest hypocrites and through them they have brought the tag of hypocrite to all Indians, coz they are the majority, right? Please dont bring down a church, a mosque or a gurdwara if you are annoyed or rather if you are finding an opportunity to do so here.
British Sikh, what’s wrong with sardars having girlfriends? Isn’t that a natural part of life, and growing up? Let’s not get too puratanical, british sikh. Getting out a little, will probably do you some good.
@ British Sikh and sikh from leeds
Leeds Sikh, I think what British Sikh is trying to say is thst Kes is a main part of Sikhism, and in Sikhism its not permitted to engage in the “girl/boy friend type” behaviour with someone that is not your wife/husband. Well its ok to have a girlfriend or boyfriend for someone who is not Amritdhari and cuts his/her hair; but like if you are, you have to consider all women, not being your wife, as sisters. And about the video, they were wearing Chola’s, that is Khalsa’s Bana so British is correct in a way about the video. Anyone can wear a turban tho, Sikh or no Sikh.
The video was nice way of reaching out to the Sikh youth. On a side note I see nothing wrong with having boyfriend/girlfriend. I personally know plenty of Amritdhari Sikhs who are dating (in a relationship such as a boyfriend/girlfriend) with other Amritdhari sikhs. Look in today’s era vast majority of the people want to marry someone they have already spent some time with and have developed love & feelings for the other person as opposed to arranged marriages.
Jeev’s comments are spot on and reflect today’s reality. Amritdharis make a life decision in accordance with the Guru’s path. However, let us not forget that Sikhi is a “householder” faith, which means that Sikhs can still find God while fulfilling our worldy duties (as opposed to taking sanyas like ascetics/rishis).
Choosing to be an Amritdhatri Sikh does not bar a person from getting to know other human beings, choosing who to spend the rest of their lives with, loving their partners, and experiencing the blessing of children.
In addition, there’s a difference between taking somebody to a movie or dinner (and getting to know them), and having pre-marital sex. What I’m trying to say is that there’s nothing wrong with Amritdharis dating other like-minded individuals, in order to make informed life decisions.
if you read the msg properly i have criticized certain people who r hypocrite bigots but not the site langarhall itself……sayaneya ne sahi keha hai….sach jhootha kauda zaroor hunda hai par kai baar kaudii dawaii zayada asar kardee hai….god bless you
harpreet singh urf preet mohammad from lahore(isi agent) aka an indian sikh(fake one) i can sort you out with one single word par main is site te apni maryada wicho bahar nai niklna chahunda….the sort of language and tone you are using speaks volume about your family background…just calm down…god bless you
Jeet Singh Khalsa,
Can you still point us to the sites you were referring to?
“which are not biased and provide a well balanced discussions,”
Thanks!
Jeet Singh Khalsa, Lahore is the historical throne of the Sikh empire, and is enshrined with Sikh history. I have been to Lahore, Sialkot, Narowal, and Gujranwala many times, and the love I have experienced there from common people is non-existent in India (our so called “country”). India is the country in which Sikhs were targeted by politicians and burned alive on the streets. This is a FACT, “Khalsa” ji – not bias, not partisan not an untruth. The perpetrators of these crimes, 25 years later, have still not been brought to justice – this is another FACT. In addition, the victims of these government-perpetrated crimes are still living a life of hell and misery. Please educate yourself of the plight of these victims, 25 YEARS LATER: http://www.sikhchic.com/article-detail.php?cat=21&id=832
It makes me crazy that people in India, including hindu puppet manmohan kohli, have the audacity to say “we have to move on and forget about 1984″. Try telling that to the lady in the above-referenced article.
Ibadat brother, in India’s history has the tyrant ever been brought to justice by their own government? never! Let time pass, everything will be balanced. Before reaching Nanded, Dasam Father asked Bahadar Shah to hand over Wazir Khan, under whose rule our brothers were bricked alive; he started saying oo I will need time and what not, even though it was because of Dasam Father that he got his rule. After hearing this, Dasam father told him that if he had just listened to him he would have got praised as Dharmee Raja. But instead, because of his treachery, such a Sikh will be made that will destroy their rule, who will show soo much power that I myself have not presented, Banda Singh Bahadur will turn their empire to rubble. Sure it took a little while for that justice to come, but, once it came….it did not forgive any of them.
WJKK WJKF
Khalsa laake nahin jeet veere tussi sikh ho sakde ho nahin tussi eh samjh baitho ko tussi palokha dedoge sikh kaum nu. Mere nahin kesh ne, na hi main path karda haan, par ehna jaroor keh sakda haan ki tuhaade varge khalsa to bahut upar chadke sikh kaum layi pyaar hai mere ch. Tuhada kaum de laye compassion vekh ke mainu eh lagda jaroor hai ki tussi vih ‘Indian sikh’ varge RSS hired propaganda spreader ho. Baaki Satsri Akal, hor kujh ni kehna chahnda main.
Mr. Jeet Singh Khalsa ji, my 2nd last statment is true in its entirety, and I cannot help it that it offends you. It might offend you for 2 reasons: 1) Either you are not aware of the politics and religion fanaticism in India, completely spread just and just by Hindus, (OR) 2) You being an RSS ideologue or pracharak (or sanghi or bajrangi or whatever word you call them) would inevitably be offended for the truth I have spoken about your cowardness of bringing down churches(kandhamal, bombay, manglore etc etc), mosque (babri) and encouraging attack on Darbar Sahib as your prime ministerial candidate has openly acceded in his ‘My country, My life’. Go, change your name now and then puke again with some other id to counter these statements for the sole purpose of your propaganda.
to harpreet singh accusing anyone of being an rss agent without solid evidence is absurd. Secondly just because you don’t share views with someone is not a valid point to allege that they are affiliated with any organization. The type of language that you are using; gives other people a hint as to what your family background is like.
THIS IS THE SHIT
jeev veer you said it right……i don’t have to prove my sikhi to people like you manpreet mohammad……jeet singh khalsa apne waheguru te apney maa baap to siwa na kadey kisey to dareya te na kade kisey to darogaa…….baki reh gayee meree sikh hoon ya na hoon di gal ta i live in london…..main apne dasam patshah dashmesh pitah di bahadar kaum da ek sipahi haan……….jad chahe jithey chaahe aa ke mil layee…i think that will more or less clear your thought that i am a sikh or not…….and people who bark like you just show the sort of family they belong to…….i am a sikh and a proud sikh and i don’t think i have to prove my sikhi to aera gera nathu khera like you preet mohammad…….
ibadat veera,i agree with every single thing you said but we are all sitting here and discussing the situation and believe me another 10 years down the line we will be still sitting on this forum and discussing it…..what is the solution that is the main thing i would like to ask my brothers….please tell me whats the solution
6 million jews were killed in the the holocaust but even today Jews are one of the biggest community in Germany….they have not forgotten or forgiven what Germans did to them but they have moved on…..and the mob of people who killed Sikh brother and sisters were not just hindus,they comprise of Muslim Christians dalits and Hindus……i have a friend called mandeep in Delhi he and his family were saved by a punjabi hindu family…..and there are countless stories where families were saved by hindu families……main ta guru nanak dev ji di kahi ek gal sab veera nu kehnda…..awaal allah noor upaya,kudrat de sab bande,ek noor te sab jag upjeya,ko bhale ko mandey……..good and bad are in every religion and society but i think we should not single out one community……….muslims did so many bad things to our religion does that mean that we started disliking all Muslims…..i myself had bad experience with Muslims coz my wife was Pakistani Muslim and for two years her family gave me hell but i fought with almost entire Muslim community with the help of my cousins in Bradford,Yorkshire……i was almost killed but i never gave up and married her…..kyonki to fight zulm and to never give up is what dasam patshah has given us……but i don’t hate muslims….some of my best friends are muslims and i have hindu and catholic friends as well…..all i wana say to my brother is that just becoz i don’t believe in khalstan ideology does not make me any less sikh then a khalistani sikh…..it was just bekoz that idiot was calling me names so i had to counter attack him when i mentioned lahore…..and infact i have been to lahore,panja sahab in hasan abdaal and nankana sahab.
what we are doing today on this forum is one of the biggest drawback of Sikhs world over…….arguing and fighting each other…..if our sikh brothers and sisters stop fighting within the community and religion….then believe me…forget India…we Sikhs can rule the world.
tuhada sabda veer,
jeet singh khalsa (jeeta)
london
sahnewaal veera,
don’t take me wrong,i would not like to give the website add coz we just wanna keep it hate free…take care and god bless you
Jeet Singh Khalsa,
Don’t call me veera if you’re going to make the assumptions about people and what they would do to your site…perhaps you need different perspectives in the first place…that is what makes this one of the best Sikh sites out there today, in that other than hate speech, comments are not deleted and certainly not edited allowing for multiple voices and narratives to be accounted for. If your site isn’t interested in that, its probably for the better that nobody here visits it.
Just tell me sahnewal when have a criticized this site in its entirety…this is a good site and i have no more comment to make
waheguru ji ka khalsa sri waheguru ji ki fateh
jeet singh khalsa
wow, jeet singh … so well said! again! shall email you for site links. i didn’t check this site for days. today I had to …
… because
Singh is King AGAIN!
)
Congress has won! The numbers clearly show that people wanted Manmohan Singh as Prime Minister because for their local governments, they voted for their local parties but for national level, they clearly went for congress. The third front parties are being wiped out and India is turning into a 2-party system comprising of congress and BJP. And boy, aren’t we glad that BJP didn’t win!!!!
Congress is evolving from its 1980 days. It is now increasingly comprising of young educated professionals and the modern ’secular’ India is voting for them.
Strangely, even in Punjab, out of 13 seats, 8 went to Congress whilst only 5 went to Shromani Akali Dal. I would’ve expected more seats for SAD since it is ’supposedly’ the Sikh voice in the Center. I guess people don’t want religion in politics anymore. They want educated people who would steer the country towards economic progress like Dr. Manmohan Singh did in 1990s when India was in huge debt. He was acknowledged for it, is respected for it, and is now wanted to lead the country as a Prime Minister despite the absence of a leader-like presence from him. When delivering a speech, he sounds more like a College professor (which he was once upon a time) than a leader … but still people want him.
It’s fantastic. Me, my sikh friends, my hindu friends, my muslim friends … we are all ecstatic with the results in India. I hope you guys can do you positive post about the results on this website. Thanks.
SINGH IS KING……because its the pictures of a Sikh by the name Manmohan Singh who happens to be PM of India splashed all over the newspapers worldwide…..i don’t care how the khalistani brigade criticize me but i would like to thank god for giving a Sikh another opportunity to govern INDIA….Manmohan Singh is a good and honest Sikh and a role model…..a lot better then lot of bigots who come here and criticize everything about India
Before everyone gets carried away with all the empty “Singh is King” rhetoric, let’s ask ourselves:
Who is Manmohan Singh, and what does he really stand for?
No elected Sikh official in Indian history has expressed attitudes and beliefs so much at variance with the prevailing values of their faith community as Mr. Manmohan Kohli. Let us be proud that, at face-value, a turbanned Sikh has been given (as opposed to elected) the position of Prime Minister. But as Sikhs, let us not make the immature mistake of thinking that we should be proud of what he stands for.
1) Manmohan Kohli is a hindu puppet who is unable to take a principled stand on matters involving his OWN party.
2) Manmohan Singh may have the identity of a Sikh, but he has proven his interests and views are NOT aligned with those of the Sikh community. He is a Sikh in appearance only – not actions. He is an appointed puppet to appease intellectually-challenged people for the pre-meditated killing of thousands, orchestrated by his very own party.
3) The perpetrators of the horrific 1984 crimes have still not been brought to justice – 25 years later! Kohli was “unaware” that politicians such as Sajjan Kumar, and Jag Tytler (directly implicated in organized riots and mass-murders) had been given tickets in his OWN party to contest elections.
4) More importantly, the victims of these government-perpetrated crimes are still living a life of hell and misery. Please educate yourself of the plight of these victims, 25 YEARS LATER: http://www.sikhchic.com/article-detail.php?cat=21&id=832
5) Congress propoganda in recent weeks has been to adopt a dismissive attitude to the atrocities of 1984. Mr Kohli said: “We have to move on and forget about 1984?. Please try telling that to the lady in the above-referenced article, and the innocent women who were raped, as their husbands were torched alive outside their homes.
6) Manmohan Kohli recently said, “I am an Indian first and a Sikh later.” This is a man willing to compromise his own religious beliefs, and betray his faith community, at the behest of Sonia Gandhi and the Congress party.
7) In Manmohan Kohli’s defense, it should be noted that all politicions are crooks, and will do ANYTHING for votes. That includes going to Punjab and wearing a turban at various rallies in order to garner Sikh votes, like Rahul Gandhi (whose father openly advocated the killing of innocent Sikhs in 1984).
All that I can say is that Manmohan Singh is the most honest politician in the world and one more thing he is a pm of india not only of sikhs, so he has to remain neutral and simply he cannot favor the sikhs because he himself is sikh.
To an Indian Sikh (the real one) I am single doctor let me know if your interested.
Ibadat Singh Gill: I have noticed on a couple of your posts that you refer to Dr. Singh as “Manmohan Kohli” the “hindu puppet”. I cannot help but wonder why it is that you go to such great lengths to point out that Manmohan Singh is a Kohli – to me, an utterly irrelevant point. Are you eluding to him somehow being more easy to manupulate because he is not a Gill Jatt like you? I realise that this is a debate for another time and place, but your repeated “Kohli” comments deserve a response.
Anyhow, on a positive note, I would say that having a Sikh PM builds trust between Sikhs and other communities in India. A respected Sikh national leader does much more to repair relationships than a thousand bullets would ever do, and it is ultimately this repaired relationship and mutual respect that reduces the chances of an 84 like event ever happening again. Sikhs are seen as vital members of the India union, loyal citizens, and intelligent contributors – a big revamp on the image during the 80s. Anything even close to 84 occuring now would leave India outraged; in fact, the nation is rejecting right wing politics and its about time. If people like Manmohan and Montek do nothing else, even their presence there as capable Sikhs does a lot. Be proud.
I like it!
back to the original post – i do see that more and more sikh boys/men are cutting their hair but i don’t really think its their faults for two reasons.
one. with the older generation, they weren’t given any options. they were forced to keep their hair because their parents said so. now, more and more parents aren’t as stringent in forcing this on their children because the whole world is being americanized.
two. kids these days aren’t educated enough in the importance of wearing a turban. if they don’t understand what it represents or what the significance of it is – of course they’re more likely to cut their hair.
i think it all comes down to education. personally, i wouldn’t force my children to do something blindly. they need to be educated on the history and significance and then be able to make a decision. kids these days cut their hair because wearing a turban means nothing to them.
This is a tune!!
[...] – both in terms of Sikhi Saroop and Sikh principles. I wasn’t really feeling the Teri Meri Bas video at first, but I now appreciate the vision and effort to use a music video in conveying such [...]
thers no prob to go date with a turban guy…but at last i prefer those who treat womens properly & respect them and not drunken…
if he is not a turban guy then also its ok.. why so fuss
why do people always blame the guys. ooooo the guys are bad all cutting their hair. why cant anyone blame sikh girls who prefer clean shaven sikh guys as partners. no one makes songs teaching sikh girls its always teach the guys the guys need to learn. people should point their finger at sikh girls for the reasons that many sikh guys cut their hair. they find clean shaven sikhs better looking.
After a few month's reflection, this song is like Beyonce's to the left, to the left, but about the topic listed above.
If we polled the majority of Sikh/Punjabi girls, I think we all know the results would be less than favorable in support of the topic of this song.
Instead, we have All the single ladies.. All the single ladies.. put your hands up.. oh oh ohh..
exactly that was my point. everyone keeps on blaming the sikh guys for cutting their hair off. they always say your a weak person if you cut your hair and lose your turban. that a true sikh wouldn't lose his turban because of society. I've heard plenty of lectures including this video directed toward the male sikh youth. I don't understand why our community has a hard time blaming sikh girls and trying to teach them to respect the sikh turban. Nowdays sikh girls will automatically find guys like jay sean, john abraham, etc highly attractive, but they will never say any male sardar is good looking. We need to start lecturing the girls and blaming them. Trying to make videos to understand the sikh turban and identity. If we keep blaming male sikh youth they will eventually stop listening. I mean look around the efforts to get the youth to keep kesh and a dastaar are failing miserably.