Once the visionary designers have finalized the look, they hire an ad agency to market it. A worldwide blitz is launched. Men with the look are shown with women fawning over them; the man with the look is successful at everything: business, love, sports, gambling...Men-boys around the world fantasize about the look and soon the designer¹s coffers start to overflow. Success!

The Sikh creates his own style through his dastar, or his
head-dress. The New York designers are unable to profit from
this style. The razor companies are left holding the bag. The
Sikh has created his own style. Not even another Sikh can
emulate his style...so individual is his look.

The Sikh's dastar gives him self-confidence and pride. The
simplest peasant from the Punjab ties his turban as if he were
an Emperor. The dastar is the crown of the Sikh. It brings
equality between the millionaire and the pauper.

The Beauty of the Pugree
The most beautiful head-dress for men
is the hand-tied pugree or turban. This
head-dress, once banned by the Mughal
Emperors for the commoner, identifies
the Sikh from near and afar. The Sikh
cannot hide in the masses! He must
stand and be counted.

The turban or pugree is made from fine
cotton and usually comes in about one
meter width. A visit to a pugree shop
reveals a multitude of colors. Bright
ones for the young at heart! The
standard black, maroon, army green,
navy blue and steel grey for the
mature look! White and saffron for
the religious look!

The simpler version of the pugree
involves an approximately five meter
long piece of cloth. Men who prefer
the fuller look may buy eight meters
of cloth, cut it in half and make a
four-meter-by- two-meter turban
to work with.

The Sikh child begins to learn the art
of turban tying around his teens. It
may take him several years to master
the procedure and develop his own
personal style to create a work of art.

The pugree is sometimes starched lightly, especially if it
is to be worn again without re-tying it. Otherwise, one works
with the soft, unstarched cloth. The first step is the punee
where two people stretch the cloth diagonally. The cloth is
then folded, while the pugree is kept stretched along the
diagonal. Both people fold (by rolling) with their right hands,
keeping the left side stretched. After the folding, the turban
cloth is gathered.

Before tying the pugree the wearer may wrap a colorful fifty around his head. The front portion of the fifty will be
visible on the forehead and adds beauty to the pugree.

The tying of the pugree is not simple if one wants it to look
attractive. Every Sikh boy has spent hours in front of the
mirror perfecting the technique. Many Sikh women, particularly
American Sikh women, wear beautiful turbans with their
distinct styes. One end of the pugree is held in the mouth
while one gradually wraps the cloth around the head. The
angle at which each turn is made, the pinching of the cloth on
the forehead, the opening and closing of the folds of the cloth all add subtle touches which lend each
pugree a unique look.

Once the entire cloth is almost used up the last part is tucked in the front taking
great care to smooth any wrinkles from this last fold. The end that was clenched in
the teeth is now released and pulled to the back of the head. The first fold is now
pulled through and opened so that the entire head can be covered. The back end is
now pulled back and tucked in.

Tying of the turban is a physical ritual for the Sikh man and for the woman who chooses to wear a turban. It is a ballet, with precise movements of the hands, shoulders and fingers. The cloth is the medium of this art. Once perfected, it only takes a couple of minutes to tie the turban. But it transforms the way the Sikh looks!

A Little Less Formal Style
The Sikh's dastar does not always have to be the long turban. Depending upon the situation, Sikhs have developed less formal styles as well. A two meter long piece of cloth (often with an interesting pattern) can make an attractive, less formal dastar

.

A Lot Less Formal Style
Sikh sportsmen wear the patka made from a square piece of cloth (about two feet by two feet) with strings attached on two sides. The patka is tied around the head with the jurha snugly wrapped in the patka's strings. Often a bandanna can be tied around the head with no strings.