INSUBCONTINENT EXCLUSIVE:
culture inundated Times Square, the crossroads of the world, as members of the community tied turbans to thousands of New Yorkers and
tourists in an annual fixture aimed at spreading awareness about the Sikh identity.Sikh organisation ''The Sikhs of New York'' organised the
annual Turban Day on Saturday in association with the Consulate General of India in New York
This year's Turban Day also marked the 550th birth anniversary of Guru Nanak Dev and the festival of Baisakhi.Deputy Consul General of India
in New York Shatrughna Sinha said the Consulate is commemorating the 550th birth anniversary of Guru Nanak with Gurubani recital
programmes.As part of the commemoration of Guru Nanak's 550th birth anniversary as well as to mark Baisakhi, this year the Consulate
associated with The Sikhs of NY on Turban Day, Mr Sinha said."This is a great environment and ambience and the crowd is fantastic," Mr Sinha
said, sporting a blue turban as he took part in the commemoration."There is no better way than this to raise awareness about Sikhism as well
as propagating the message of universal brotherhood and humanity of Guru Nanak Dev ji," he told PTI.Turban Day was started in 2013 at Baruch
College to promote and educate people about the Sikh religion and identity.Sikhs of New York co-founder Chanpreet Singh said in the seven
years that Turban Day has been organised in the city, there has increasingly been awareness about Sikhism, not just through people who are
getting turbans tied but by the thousands others on social media following the event.He said more than 38,000 turbans have been tied in the
past seven years since the day started being organised in the city."Technically, by tying one turban we are educating 200 people who are
following it on social media," Mr Singh said, adding that number of volunteers signing up for the event has increased multifold over the
years."We have people coming from California, Canada, Europe and some from India, especially planning their trip to the US around Turban
Day," he said.This year, the organisation also honoured Sikh personnel serving in the US Army and Navy.Mr Singh said the organisation will
continue in its endeavours such as Turban Day till "the day I walk on the streets and people don't give me two looks," noting that there is
need to continue to spread awareness about the Sikh culture the organisation plans to take Turban Day to other cities across the US."The
celebration was very special and important for us because we not only celebrated Turban Day, like every year, but this year it fell on
Baisakhi Day and we are marking it with 550th birth anniversary of Guru Nanak Dev, our first Guru," he said.Gabriella Vinetti and her friend
Eri Banjahi from Argentina clicked selfies, donning their bright green and pink turbans
"We wore the turban in solidarity and in respect of another culture," they said.Last year, the Sikhs of New York had created a world record
for tying thousands of turbans within a few hours on Turban Day
The organisation had won a certificate from the Guinness World Record for the "most turbans tied in 8 hours was achieved by Sikhs of NY
(USA) in Times Square in New York, USA on April 7, 2018."Every year, Turban Day brings together hundreds of volunteers from the the Sikh
community who tie colourful turbans on New Yorkers, tourists and Americans from across the country visiting Times Square
While tying the turbans, they also talk about the Sikh heritage, identity and make those getting the turbans tied aware of the culture.The
event has been aimed at spreading awareness among Americans and other nationalities about the Sikh religion and its articles of faith,
especially the turban, which has often been misconceived and misidentified, particularly in the years since the 9/11 terror attacks.The
five-hour long event included cultural and musical performances by young children.Get the latest election news, live updates and election
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