Browsing Tag: Waris Ahluwalia

It's an outlook that's remarkably measured and forgiving considering the terror and violence Sikh Americans have faced in recent years. But perhaps that's the point: Whatever the obstacles might be, the simple desire to be accepted and respected remains an uncommonly powerful motivating force — not just in America, but universally as well.

Actor and designer Waris Singh Ahluwalia appears in the spot created by the Sikh American Legal Defense and Education Fund, introducing the public to other notable Sikh Americans in an effort to address misconceptions about the community.

The ad thrilled Sikh Americans like me, who have worked for years to dismantle one of the most pernicious prevailing stereotypes in American culture: turban equals terrorist.

He told The Huffington Post, "When I first saw my Facebook friend's photo of this GAP subway advertisement defaced by vandals with racist messages, I wanted the world to see how millions of brown people are viewed in America today."

An advertisement featuring a turbaned Sikh with a flowing beard may do for the community what nothing else has in such measure to promote their cause.

Gap’s Holiday 2013 ad campaign, which launched this week, has drawn compliments for featuring a diverse group of personalities. Ahluwalia can be seen posing in his photograph with artist and filmmaker Quentin Jones.

“I fell into jewelry by accident, the universe opened a door and I walked through it,” says Waris Ahluwalia, who recently celebrated the fifth anniversary of his jewelry design business, House of Waris.

“We're all here for what is a spark of a moment. If I can bring beauty, hope and joy to the world around me I shall have served my purpose."

Waris was born in Amritsar, grew up in Brooklyn and now makes his home in Manhattan's Tony West Village. Spare and immaculately put together in a dark brown suit, black turban and striking Lincoln green leather gloves, he cuts a debonair figure.