CHANDIGARH: Marking the 550th birth anniversary of Guru Nanak, Delhi Sikh Gurdwara Management Committee (DSGMC) has established the first turban bank in the national capital on November 2 at Gurdwara Bangla Sahib.
The move comes in a bid to motivate Sikh youth to take pride in turbans which represents their faith and is a part of their Sikh identity. As of today, almost 500 youth have gotten turbans from the establishment and 1000 people have donated them. More such banks are already planned in Gurgaon, Faridabad, Noida and Ghaziabad.
"The nominal price of Rs 50 for each turban has been fixed. The committee plans to set up such turban banks in all ten historic Sikh shrines under it and will motivate the all Sikh institutions to start this noble initiative in their respective areas within the next year in order to cover the top 100 Gurdwara in Delhi under the Turban Bank scheme,’’ said Manjinder Singh Sirsa, President of DSGMC.
Each donated turban is sent for dying to give it a fresh look and the cost of the dying is borne by the DSGMC. The monetary aspect of identifying with one’s Sikh identity was also a compelling factor in setting up and getting the bank up and running. A six-metre pagri costs about Rs 600 excluding the tailoring cost he said.
He said that DSGMC has deployed two Sikh intellectuals to teach mastering the technique of tying the turban in different ways with patience and practice in observance of Sikh faith to younger generations.