Gregor Samsa Singh

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This morning, while I was tying my turban, I was thinking about All Mixed Up’s postcard from a few weeks back. In particular, I was trying to figure out why I didn’t understand the basic conundrum that people were wrestling with… that is, why I couldn’t imagine that being white would make me like everybody else.

Let me explain with a Gedankenexperiment. Imagine that I, as a teenager, had awoken one morning to find that myself a person of pallor. I was now pink rather than brown. Who would I be?

I would like to think that I would be the guy on the left. To be honest, I was never as cool as he was. I never dressed like a Nihang, nor did I travel around India at that age. Still, I’d like to think that’s who my white doppleganger in an alternate universe would have been, even if I had been dorkier.

Now imagine that a decade later, the machine that had transformed me reversed polarity, flooding me with extra melanin. Perhaps this is my melanin plus a decade of interest. Or perhaps it is sucked from somewhere else – from some other poor soul who wakes up paler than when they slept. It doesn’t matter.

Now, all of a sudden, I’m not white but black. In this case, I’d like to think that I would be like Sri Chand Singh on the right. Sri Chand is not a convert – he (and his twin brother) have been Sikhs their whole lives. Again, I doubt I’d ever be as cool as either of them [Look at the photo of Laxmi Chand beating the Nagara drum below the fold for a photo of a supercool Sikh], but I hope I would try.

The point is, I’m at a double remove from white society, separated not just by race/ethnicity, but also by religion as well. If I had to choose to abandon one or the other, I think I would probably lose the race before I lost the religion, although both would be wrenching.

The reason is that I’m multicultural but monoreligious. I have little affinity for white mainstream society – I just don’t grok it. I can’t imagine having my parents be Ozzie and Harriet (nor Ozzie and Sharon for that matter). And I really don’t have a desire to “fit in.”

I didn’t grow up in middle America, and even living here now I find it all fairly alien. The closest I could come would be to imagine being Jewish (I grew up in a Jewish neighborhood), but you see how, even in my wildest thoughts of being a white American, I still imagine being an immigrant, an ethnic and an outsider.

p.s. If you read this far, you deserve to know the truth. This was all just an excuse to use these three photos in a post, together. They’re just great images.

117 thoughts on “Gregor Samsa Singh”

  2. This post shall also serve as ennis’ humble request for biodatas from Sikh women =)

    Take it from me, you’ll find love at Chicago speed-dating events.

  3. These are cool pictures. Sometimes I see women wearing turban (in N. America). They are white and definitely Sikh (husband, kids confirm the religion). None of the kaurs I know back home wear turban.

    Any theories?

  6. p.s. If you read this far, you deserve to know the truth. This was all just an excuse to use these three photos in a post, together. TheyÂ’re just great images.

    Why are they great? Not being scarcastic…honestly why?

  9. Oi Gavolt. With friends like these …

    Why are they great? Not being scarcastic…honestly why?

    JoAT – look at the colors in the bottom photo – the leaves, the white kurta that he’s wearing, the orange kamarband, the nagara … I love that composition. Similarly with the two smaller photos – I like the colors and the shapes in and of themselves. I think they’re great visually.

    [I’m offline for a while. Try to behave yourselves while I’m gone …]

  10. Why are they cool? Singhs are cool. Thats pretty much the answer. I don’t wear kesh, long story on that, but our people represent to the fullest in the cool department when they get their kesh on. Its a shame that at this point in time people with dastaar get so much static.

  11. Finally I have an ethic monicker I can identify with! WASP is so old-school, and besides, I’m pretty much agnostic. Honky–well, I guess I’m too much aware of the Bohemian/Hungarian roots.

    But “person of pallor” — I can go for that!

  12. These generalisations of “coolness” are disturbing. How are diff are just-arrived Indian wannabes..trying to strum guitars here for the first time…or going backpakcing in the USA.

  15. Amitabh,

    Yeah I saw that; to me thats a complex topic that could be discussed for days. Curious as to your thoughts

  16. Back in India, my mother would drag me to a swami, who had a couple dozen white (americans and European )disciples. During those forced visits, I used to get a kick out of hearing all the uncles and aunties talk about, how the swami has – “even the “english” people follow him”. Assumption being, that must somehow make the swami better than other swamis.

    My Point – all this fawning over non-brown adherents of oriental religions reeks of…..fill in the blank here.

  17. How are diff are just-arrived Indian wannabes..trying to strum guitars here for the first time…or going backpakcing in the USA.

    Hmm, whats wrong in strumming guitar and backpacking across USA. Don’t you go enjoy some things indian when you go to India? Does that make you a wannabe? Or maybe just another plain confused self loathing individual.

  18. i found this post to be very dynamic and interesting — thanks for posting, ennis. I’ve always been intrigued with Sikhs from non-desi backgrounds and how they’ve understood and taken on Sikhi for themselves.

    i read the article you’re referring to, amitabh, and i found it to be quite sad, especially the opening picture. I do feel that if you don’t understand the significance of the Kesh, then you shouldn’t keep it simply because you’re told to. It seems like there is a lack of education around the importance of the Kesh and this is something parents have to instill into their children. It is quite obvious that this isn’t happening in Punjab and that is why these young boys don’t hesitate when cutting their hair. Or maybe the decision does have much more depth to it that we can’t understand (especially with the prevalance of various social issues occuring in the region).

    Regardless, this is why this post is so interesting… i wonder if Sikhs from non-desi backgrounds also experience or will experience this with their younger generations…

  19. My Point – all this fawning over non-brown adherents of oriental religions reeks of…..fill in the blank here.

    Yeah I guess I was thinking something along the same line when I asked what was cool about the pictures. I see 3 sikh men. Perhaps I take for granted that sikhs can be of any race because I live in Queens near a huge gurudwara and the sikhs there are of every color. But maybe I misunderstood Ennis and he really isn’t exoticizing these particular men.

  20. I think wearing kesh should be a personal decision that goes to a person’s religious beliefs. I think it must always be a choice and one that is fostered within the community. At certain periods in someone’s life they may be called to wear kesh and if that happens that person should have the support of those around him or her. I don’t think, even in an environment in which there is not discrimination that everyone should wear kesh. Its a personal decision as to what a person believes is right for him or her and whether they want to go on that path. To make it a requirement is I think the wrong choice.

    No one required the Punj Piara to be called up, they chose to go themselves and thats what made their decision what it was.

    Maff karna for anything I may have said wrong in my post

  21. JOAT,

    I honestly did not consider that those three dudes were not brown. What I saw was three guys who have chosen to wear kesh, and to me the ethos of Sikhi is so far beyond petty concerns of ethnicity, that when I see someone wearing kesh, the most relevent thing to me is that and not their ethnicity. I would assume for Ennis it might have been a similiar thought.

    Given that, seeing as how the ethos of Sikhi is very pluralistic, its about time Sikhs came in multiple hues

  25. Ennis: I have lots of affinity to the mainstream white society in US and Canada, and aspire to be one of them (at least like the folks who appear on NPR :-P). Post-Dec 2004, My faith in them and respect for them has quadrupled.

  26. Oh and as far as the photos go, the first one has PJ potential while the second one looks like a snapshot. The third one does have a pleasing color palette, but the composition could be improved, including the use of less depth of field and a slightly different vantage point (showing the drums). I’d also increase the saturation a bit to bring out the yellows and oranges more.

  27. Al Mujahid Also does kesh mean long hair?,/i>

    Short answer: Yes.

    Long answer: It is the term used by gujju shopkeepers to state their preferred method of payment when they will not accept credit cards for purchases under $10.

  28. Would the guru advocate for keepish kesh if it leads to daily discrimination and threat of bodily harm?

    Back in the days of the Gurus, by keeping your kesh, you were subject to a LOT more bodily harm than in today’s time =)

  29. Back in the days of the Gurus, by keeping your kesh, you were subject to a LOT more bodily harm than in today’s time =)

    Maybe a better question should be whether a benevolent guru would still want his children to be subjected to bodily harm today in the US?

  34. I usually see a guy in venice beach wearing a turban and playing a guitar on roller blades, not sure if he is really a sikh or just a novel way to attract people….

  41. Al Mujahid

    Khuda ke waste parda na Kaabe se utha Zaalim; Kahin aisa na ho yan bhi wohi kafir sanam nikle.

    I would translate the 2nd line as:

    For God’s sake, do not lift the veil from the face of Kaaba, The same kafir beloved might be show up here too.

    sp

  42. Mere Bachoo,

    Ap etni sayana koi hoo, ap ke mummy papa bhi bahut sayana hoga, shahbash. English translation: Why are you guys so smart? You parents must be really smart too. Well done.

  43. Al Mujahid: heh. My favorite ghazal too! 🙂

    I would translate this: Kahin aisa na ho yan bhi wohi kafir sanam nikle

    as Kahin aisa na ho = It shouldn’t happen that yon bhi – here too wohi kaafir sanam nikle – that infidel beloved materialises!

  44. Maybe a better question should be whether a benevolent guru would still want his children to be subjected to bodily harm today in the US?

    Appreciation for the Ghalib qoutations, every SM post should include at least one couplet.

    AMFD, your question comes from a different point of view, and I think Sonia is right to suggest that the worldview you take is not likely to correspond in such as way that you would find the explanation of why to keep Kesh to be persuasive.

    However, you seem to be a principled man, and I would suggest that there are probably times following your principles causes difficulty.

    I wish I could end with Ghalib but alas my education in that which matters, poetry, is lacking

  45. That last picture is hot.

    Aaaanyway….

    These are cool pictures. Sometimes I see women wearing turban (in N. America). They are white and definitely Sikh (husband, kids confirm the religion). None of the kaurs I know back home wear turban. Any theories?

    It’s their crown. They wear it because they consider ‘real’ Sikhism to be a nearly gender-neutral religious tradition, and they believe that Kaurs (originally or not) have the same status and responsibilities as Singhs. Non-desi Kaurs who convert do their own research to make sense of the apparent disconnect between Sikh philosophy and Punjabi culture on gender. That, or they are simply unaware of the current gender politics in Punjabi culture and therefore focus only on the religious doctrine. They don’t live in North India, so it doesn’t really affect them (or many diasporic desi Kaurs, for that matter). Some of them make it their own problem – makes sense to me, considering Sikhism fosters a strong sense of responsibility to the Sikh community, which ultimately gets traced back to Punjab). An interesting part of recent Sikh literature (both academic and devotional) is feminist writing by white Kaurs. Western Kaurs can do stuff like that more easily, especially if they’re white.

    I have a lot more respect and patience for non-desi Sikhs than non-desi Hindus and (non-Asian) Buddhists because, in my experience, the non-desi Sikhs have all been very aware and respectful of Sikh history and tradition. They study it and then internalize it, sincerely identifying with the Khalsa. I have to admit though, learning about Sikh history and tradition is a LOT easier than learning about Hinduism and Buddhism because it’s a relatively newer religion with very few significant ideological factions due to the fact that early Sikhs made a point of recording everything, leaving less room for debates on historical accuracy. It’s also not as philosophically complex as Hinduism and Buddhism because it was intended to be practical and accessible to everyone. My reasoning: it’s kind of hard to fuck up. I think that’s why non-desi Sikhs are usually welcomed by even the most critical desi Sikhs.

    Anyway, that’s been my experience with non-desi Sikhs at school, which just happens to be a North American hub for Sikh studies, so I probably shouldn’t generalize considering my exposure has been to white Sikh academics. I do remember a guest lecture by a guy who is one of the heads of the savvy business corporation (yes, that’s what I said) established by Yogi Bhajan, and my only reaction was that he was just a hippie-Hindu misplaced in a Sikh community by a shady ‘mystic East guru’. Even the white kids caught that vibe. (And ok, I’m not usually bothered by pronounciation because I understand our phonetics just don’t match up with those of other languages, but really now, if you claim to be a devout Sikh who “takes it back to the roots” you can bother yourself to say SiKHism instead of SEEKism.)

  46. Non-desi Kaurs who convert do their own research to make sense of the apparent disconnect between Sikh philosophy and Punjabi culture on gender. That, or they are simply unaware of the current gender politics in Punjabi culture and therefore focus only on the religious doctrine. They don’t live in North India, so it doesn’t really affect them

    This is the kind of experience similar to other women in my Hindu sanga, who do not live in India, but just visit time to time for pilgrimage.

    Unfortunately one of the trade-offs for experiencing life in India for those of us who choose to live there is that we are kind of expected to conform to the gender norms of North India, not so much by our sect but more by the local people with whom we live.

  47. For God’s sake, do not lift the veil from the face of Kaaba, The same kafir beloved might be show up here too.

    Sonya: Your literal translation is correct, however, Ghalib and other Urdu poets at times when they were criticizing god would make euphemistic use of ‘lover’ for god and thats how I read the above.

  48. Shruti,

    Just one quibble with what you wrote, and for this, if you will permit, I will expound. This is only for consideration and no other purpose.

    It’s also not as philosophically complex as Hinduism and Buddhism because it was intended to be practical and accessible to everyone.

    I’m not sure about this. The metaphysical underpinings of Sikhism are shared with many of the more complex ideas that preceded Sikhi, including Buddhism or Upanishadic Hinduism. One would have to consider the ideas within the Granth Sahib in to judge the complexity of thought within it. Even the ideas of praticality and accessiblity come with complexity. I think the Sikh idea of accessiblity supposed an inner truth (the english phrase seems inaccurate here) that can be intuited more than understood by all people given purity of thought. This purity of thought comes about in part by resistence of maya, which includes lust, greed, envy, ego(I-ness), anger, material acqusitiveness. And the intiative understanding of this Sach leads, in Sikhism to a kind of merging with the Divine, which is a presence that pervades and inhabits all creation; and may be in accordance with other Bhakti traditions, this merging is accomplished and suffused with a kind of “love” that corresponds to the “love” that is felt a loved one for their beloved, but also includes many additional dimensions.

    So this is all the say, there is a lot of complexity in Sikhism

  50. For the life of me, I can’t fathom, how any Honest and reasonably Intelligent person can believe in god and the attendant religious mumbo jumbo?