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Premi5
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I have just returned from India. We stayed in Delhi, Patna and Amritsar. 

Observations:

- Many non-Sikh men wear karas, especially in Delhi, and quite a lot in Patna too.

- Something new I had not seen before - punjabi males wearing karas with their names on it. Found this strange.

- Unfortunately, obesity is increasing even in the elderly village populations and many elderly women walking around with waddling gait due to hip problems. For obesity, the city Sikhs are even worse - normal weight is definitely the exception not the norm.

- City Sikh females cannot be distinguished from their hindu counterparts.

- The area around Harmandir Sahib has been over-sanitised and takes away a lot of the uniqueness of going there. 

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1 hour ago, Premi5 said:

Something new I had not seen before - punjabi males wearing karas with their names on it. Found this strange.

I've not seen this either. 

1 hour ago, Premi5 said:

The area around Harmandir Sahib has been over-sanitised and takes away a lot of the uniqueness of going there. 

Over-sanitised, does this mean cleaner? I guess they're trying to make it more appealing to tourists, which is good, as it should be, but maybe not doing away with the history of it or making it more modern. 

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1 hour ago, simran345 said:

 

Over-sanitised, does this mean cleaner? I guess they're trying to make it more appealing to tourists, which is good, as it should be, but maybe not doing away with the history of it or making it more modern. 

Clean, yes. 

You are right, what I meant is they have made it look too modern, taken away rustic character

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7 hours ago, Premi5 said:

- The area around Harmandir Sahib has been over-sanitised and takes away a lot of the uniqueness of going there. 

This phenomenon you've rightly observed is brought into even greater relief when you go to Nankana Sahib in Pakistan. The atmosphere and general state of the asthaans in Pakistan is almost like travelling back in time to our Guru Sahib's era. I can't decide whether it's a case of neglect (Muslims gonna Muslim) or a desire to maintain those sites in a style that is as close to their original condition as possible. 

Don't get me wrong, they aren't in a total state of disrepair or anything as grave as that, but what's noticeable when compared to Indian based asthaans is the general lack of that feeling of sterility of visiting a tourism spot (in that typically cack-handed, ostentatious Indian way that just seems to be pushed to the extreme) which is what's gradually happening to major religious sites in Punjab. The historical and spiritual authenticity of our holy sites is being replaced by something I'm certain is doing more harm than good. Maintenance and upkeep is good, but not at the expense of the overall feel and experience of the place.

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9 hours ago, Premi5 said:

Many non-Sikh men wear karas, especially in Delhi, and quite a lot in Patna too. I think this is a 'fashion' thing, but probably shows favourable feelings of brotherhood from Hindus.

 

This is somewhat common in India, and I noticed this a lot when I was studying there. 

Some Muslims also wear a metal bracelet to remember Ali. 

9 hours ago, Premi5 said:

Something new I had not seen before - punjabi males wearing karas with their names on it. Found this strange.

Yup, the ego is real. 

I have also noticed people, especially upper class or rappers, wear golden kara’s, instead of the proper Sarbloh. 

9 hours ago, Premi5 said:

Unfortunately, obesity is increasing even in the elderly village populations and many elderly women walking around with waddling gait due to hip problems. For obesity, the city Sikhs are even worse - normal weight is definitely the exception not the norm.

Instead of being proper fighting fit Khalsa’s, were turning into walking talking ladoo’s. This is something even I have to work on... 

9 hours ago, Premi5 said:

- City Sikh females cannot be distinguished from their hindu counterparts.

I really noticed this when I lived in India. Sikh women have collectively lost their external identity. Often times you can easily spot a Singh (Khalsa male) but Kaur’s are really hard to spot unless they wear their Kirpan on the outside. 

Historically speaking, Sikh women (not necessarily Kaurs) would tie their Kesh into a top knot, and cover it with s Patka and then with a chunni. They still had some form of identity, but with modern fashion even that’s gone, and you can’t tell apart a Kaur from a Punjabi woman, sad!    

 

I’m not an AkJ or part of any other Jatha, but I strongly advocate Kaurs to wear the Dastaar just like Singh’s, and establish a separate identity. 

However the blame also lies on the Singh’s who often times prefer the fashionable open hair, and don’t like Kaurs who actually follow Maryada and keep Kesh or a Dastaar.  

9 hours ago, Premi5 said:

The area around Harmandir Sahib has been over-sanitised and takes away a lot of the uniqueness of going there. 

Siri Harmandir Sahib, or the TRUE name “The Golden Temple” that our colonial Gurus gave us (Dhan Dhan Sikh-izm) is basically turning into a commercialized theme park.

i went there last year for my Amrit trip, and I noticed that there was not even a proper place for educating tourists. We are losing such a huge opertinity, what’s worse is that they kicked out bos sevadaars who were doing Parchaar. 

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Well I can address your first point. The kara predates Sikhi, Hindus have worn Karas for aesthetic and combat reasons. I believe the Rajputs wore karas and used them as knuckle dusters, and many other Indian ethnicities have their own variation of it.

But its best to remember that the reason we wear a kara is different from other groups and that it reminds us of our religious duty, and when need be, can be used in defence.

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Guest GuestSingh

Recently saw a music video of a marriage proposal with what seemed like a Kara being put on the woman's wrist.

Even with too much nonsense in this industry, that was disheartening to see - felt like a new low.

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