Sikhs set to rule the ramp

[Guest mehtab]

Gurmeet Singh Gill and aspiring models all set to start an Annual Punjab Fashion Week and the Mr Sikh India Pageant. — Tribune photo by Parvesh Chauhan

http://www.tribuneindia.com/2004/20040213/cth2.htm#11

Sikhs set to rule the ramp

Tribune News Service

Chandigarh, February 12

Move over Aditya Bal and Kelly Dorje. It is now the burly Punjabi Sikh who is aspiring to rule the ramp. And as a perfect strategy to reach their target, a Punjab Fashion Week is being organised in the city next week, and a Mr Sikh India Pageant in April.

Gurmeet Singh Gill of Launchers- The Modeler, and his massive fan following of aspiring turbaned models, are all set to change the way the fashion world looks at the Sikhs. If Jaspal Sehgal, the runner up at the Grasim Mr India contest, could woo the judges and fans with his pride- the turban, and hotelier Vikram Chatwal could walk the ramp in international fashion shows and appear on the cover page of Vogue, the men from sadda Punjab could not have been left behind.

Informs Gurmeet,”We have managed to create a market for Sikh models- be it on the ramp or in visuals. Top fashion designers like JJ Vallaya and Rohit Bal, and NIFD, Delhi, have been accepting turbaned models in their shows and picture shoots, which has brought acceptance for these models. But the Sikhs still need to carve a niche for themselves in the fashion world, and thus we have decided to make a dent

with Mr Sikh India Contest.”

He says that sponsors are going gaga over the idea, and contestants- turbaned men from obscure places in Punjab to the ones settled in the UK and the USA have already been making inquiries. About the Punjab Fashion Week, he says they propose to have Sikh youth interacting with each other, while being chaperoned by elders, besides giving a boost to the hitherto unexplored fashion crazy Sikh men, and women, by organising fashion shows in the city.

Till now typecast as the ultimate macho, the Sikhs from all over the region, who converged here to try their luck by getting selected by Launchers, say that they are sick of Sikhs being projected as the funny man, with an irregular turban in Bollywood or music videos. People had never thought of good-looking ‘sardars’, but not any longer. Earlier, girls,too, used to disregard Sikh men for husbands, but with the Sikhs shedding their male stereotypes by getting more fashion conscious, things are changing, says Santveer Singh, a city-based model.

Manpreet Singh from Jalalabad, says the Punjab Fashion Week and Mr Sikh India Pageant will be a launchpad for hundreds of Sikhs in the fashion world and in Bollywood. He says that genetically Sikhs are tall, broad and well-built, so they are just perfect for the fashion industry. Kya Raaj Karega Khalsa on the ramp — only the next two months will tell.

[SaadhRayn Kaur]

the last line somewhat amuses me.

the person who wrote it must have thought he was telling a funny joke.

"what will the khalsa rule will be seen next week"

manmukh jee, i would tell him, the khalsa doesn't need to rule your little runway.

that is the play of maya in which you are so deeply coloured.

the khalsa rules its mind, and by way of ruling the mind, it will rule the world.

manmukh jee, rather than be upset with you i feel sorry for you that you have such tunnel .. or should i say runway.. vision.

if those plucked and shaved people in the pic do succeed what does it prove?

they're not proper sardars anyway...

yuckk

[S1ngh]

trimmers and they are talking about khalsa raj .. oh brother

[japmans]

i dunno.. it only looks like two of them are trimmers.. and i dunno aobut you, but that's alot better than the whole bunch being trimmers....

i think it's positive exposure.. it's like, whatever sikhs do in india, we hafta punish them, just cuz it's in india..

sure, it's not as much as you'd like, but at least it's ONE positive step into making the sikh image less ridiculed.. it's like nothing is good enough for alotta people... the article seems pretty genuine.. i mean the last line is an absolutel farce, and i agree with bhenji on that part, but like.. it seems like they're seriously trying to better the image a bit

[mann_kaum_layee_qurbaan]

we need a khalistani army enlistment drive not a damn sikh fashion show.......these things are so stupid, the khalsa raj on the runway, PLEAASSEE! MAN WHERE IS MY AK-47!

[mann_kaum_layee_qurbaan]

JHUTIAAAH MAAR MAAR KI SIR POLA KAR DEWA IDDA DE BANDERA DA

[curious_man]

we need a khalistani army enlistment drive not a damn sikh fashion show.......these things are so stupid, the khalsa raj on the runway, PLEAASSEE! MAN WHERE IS MY AK-47!

vwihgurU jI kw Kwlsw!

vwihgurU jI kI &iqh!!

very true ji very true......these all r paakhandi sardaar...............

[japmans]

sorry, i musta missed something... who gave any of you the right to judge these people without knowing what and who they are.. there's an article and you ridicule them to death.. i guess i missed the announcement that let normal people judge other normal people

[SaadhRayn Kaur]

japman veer,

i think their concern is that

if you want to get rid of the misconceptions and bad reputation of sikhs

then sikhs have to become khalsas

when all sikhs become khalsas guru jee will do kirpa

without rehit we can't expect to get guru jee's kirpa

there is no pyaar without rehit

rehit is pyaar

( i need to work on my rehit so much... it shows i am just a fraud )

so if these people practiced rehit they would be showing real pyaar for guru jee

and when they showed real pyaar they would get real kirpa

and people in india would stop ridiculing sikhs

just my thoughts

please forgive me for my mistakes

[mann_kaum_layee_qurbaan]

i'm ridiculing them because the article asks will the khalsa rule the runway....that is just stupid....