Interview: Manbir Singh from SYF on 'Turban Up' Event

Manbir Singh, "We started the Sikh Youth Federation about 2 years ago. The main purpose was to pool resources of all the SSA's, that's that Sikh Student Associations, inside and outside the the universities in the Greater Toronto Area. The main purpose of today's event, all the SSA's have come together and collectively we are holding 'Turban Up'. It's just a fun way to explain to others what the turban signifies and what Sikhi is about."

What does the turban signify?

"The turban for me signifies identity. For a Sikh our main purpose is to serve others. With our turban we stand out a lot, you can identify us in a crowd of a thousand. That means that anyone you see in a turban you can approach them for help and we're obligated to help you..."

"Right now we have about 10,000 meters of turban material and our goal is to finish off all the material and hopefully in the future set a Guiness Book of World Record.

Also what I want to point out about this event is langar, the concept of free kitchen. Everyone is enjoying the same meal on equal flooring. The concept behind that is total equality, it doesn't matter what caste, creed or religion you are from, everyone deserves food at any moment in their life. I believe personally and Sikhs believe that food is a human right, it's not a privilege."

The Sikh Youth Federation is hosting another free Turban up event and Young Dundas Square on May 15th.

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