Fashion
Behold! How Handsome Is Thy Turban!
Turban Tying Training Centres
by SHARIQ MAJEED
Behold! How handsome is thy turban! [GGS, Bhagat Namdev, 727:17]
Ludhiana, Punjab
Jagtar Singh Jaggi is no ordinary professional.
He earns his livelihood by tying turbans, which not many professionals in the city would have thought of. He runs a shop, "Jaggi Turban Training Centre" in the Brown Road area where he ties turbans for his Sikh clients and also trains people in the art.
On asking what made him think of this profession, says Jagtar Singh: "I used to run a hosiery shop in the Dhuri Line area. In 2004, a customer, Jaswinder Singh, who used to get his turban tied by me, told me that I am very good at the art. That was the first time I thought of exploring this as an option to earn a livelihood."
During normal days, he gets about 20-50 customers, which include industrialists, businessmen, doctors, engineers, transporters, students and others. During the wedding season, the number goes up to 50-80.
Jagtar Singh says, "It takes me about 5-8 minutes to tie a turban. I do it in various styles, including Niku style (8.5 meters long), Grewal style (8 meters), Daljit style (6.5 meters), Patiala Shahi (7.5 meters), 'Foreign' style (5.5 meters), American style and African."
About colours liked by Ludhianvis, he said red, white, violet, black, dark pink and maroon are preferred in all seasons. Khaki, coffee, grey, light pink and brown are in demand in the summers while in winters, the popular colours are parrot, orange, sunflower, blue ink and rust.
He adds that besides tying turbans, he trains students in the art and has even people coming from as far as Toronto in Canada to learn the art.
Another professional, Jagjit Singh of Raja Turban Training Centre in the same area, says, "There are 3-4 other professionals who run turban training centres in the Brown Road area."
Twenty eight-year-old Nirpal Singh of Ahluwalia colony in Jamalpur, who runs a transport business, says, "I go to Jaggi Turban Tying Centre every day to get my turban tied. Since he is a professional, my time is saved."
Jashanjot Singh, a student of Model Town area, is also a regular at Jaggi's Centre. He ties it in very different designs," says the young man.
The rates are ...
In the shop - Rs. 70
At home - Rs. 300
Entire Wedding Party - up to Rs. 51,000
[Courtesy: Times of India]
November 17, 2011
Conversation about this article
1: Gurbir Singh (New York, U.S.A.), November 17, 2011, 2:51 PM.
It's nice to have turban-tying training centers in town where young Sikhs can go to learn the skill. Nevertheless, I feel uneasy with the idea of "outsourcing" the everyday turban tying practice to a professional. The kid who said he goes to Jaggi training center everyday is the one I am talking about.
2: Baldev Singh (Bradford, United Kingdom), November 17, 2011, 4:26 PM.
The fantastic 'Punj Larr' five fold dastaar has almost disappeared, but ironically the Bollywood film industry has brought it back and the 'stars' look extremely smart in their own right when donning the Sikh identity!
3: Surinder (Delhi, India), December 10, 2011, 4:08 AM.
I want to learn to tie the turban.