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1: Manpreet Singh (India), February 12, 2010, 2:59 AM.
Interesting! Fortunately enough for me I live in India and people here are aware enough that Sikhs don't smoke. However they are not so aware that Sikhs don't drink either. It has become quite famous that liquor is the sixth river of Punjab. So often one finds himself in a situation similar to one you described. But yours was a more challenging one, keeping in mind that you did not want to hurt religious sentiments of the Natives. Really appreciate the way you handled the situation. Must say, Good Job!
2: Sangat Singh (Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia), June 05, 2013, 4:47 AM.
In 1957, I became the first Sikh to join the rank of professional planters. When I reported for duty I was duly invited by my white colleagues for a drink in the village pub. This was to be my initiation. I arrived, all the six feet of me, and was asked what would be my poison. "Sorry, it is against my religion to drink!" I said. "Okay, then have a smoke!" Said I, "Sorry, even that is against my religion!" "Then what about women?" "Oh, they don't smoke either!" By then they had ran out of questions and accepted me as a weird kind of planter who didn't have any room for improvement. This session lasted until midnight. At least from then onwards I was not disturbed anymore. There were a number of exams to pass, such as Soil Science, Botany, Book Keeping, Estate Survey, Estate Practice, and two languages, Malay and Tamil. I passed all the exams in record time, except Estate Practice which I could only sit after 4 years of service. Even that I passed on the dot. I could now attach "A.I.S.P." to my name that stood for 'Associate of Incorporated Society of Planters'. None of my 'white' colleagues had passed any exams. There was one Bob Thomas who sat for his Malay exam seven times and failed. When he failed for the 8th time, I remarked to another colleague" "Oh, poor Bob has failed again!" The reply was: "If poor Bob had taken the English exam he would have failed that too!"