style you can't find in america

so jenni and i stayed in the heart of punjab at the sikh golden temple. (side note: we have many punjabis in seattle) the temple complex is extremely large - with the golden temple in the middle of a huge reservoir of water (which is holy to those who worship there.) when we arrived that evening, the temple goers were just finishing dinner - and thousands of people are fed daily, and then hundreds join forces to wash the dishes. (we actually could hear them washing the dishes as we walked up the lane leading into the complex; the worshipers eat on metal trays, so the washing is almost like new years in america, the clanging seems so loud and celebratory.) anyone can come and eat, and many many do. those who are traveling from far away always have accommodations, and the courtyard of the building immediately facing the entrance of the golden temple is filled with masses of worshipers sleeping on palates. i was struck with the communal feeling and how welcoming everyone was to us.

in the morning we met some youths at breakfast (they are sikh) that had come into town to check on some forms for college. this picture is of ajay, and he proved that being sikh can also be stylish. (ajay is not wearing the full turban. this is purely a style decision - many of the younger boys won't wear the turban til they're older, and some cut their hair and don't wear it at all.) ajay wears the turban "sometimes," but his friend tells him that he should wear it this way instead.

but as i looked around, i was impressed with how many of the men take care to "gear up" (match their turban with their clothes) when going out for the day. (kinda reminds me of some of the clients i work with, matching their cap and jersey with their shoes.) so things aren't so different in india after all i guess...

notice how the turban really matches the yellow lines in his plaid shirt. good job.


this one here really took some thought. i don't know if you can see it so well, but he has some light green in the shirt that matches the turban exactly. like they say on the streets of seattle, he is fitted.


i don't think those blues are the same color, but he made the style section of this blog anyway. (there were some others who really shoulda been here, but i can't be getting up in everybodys face with the camera - plus, most of these were taken on the sly.)


these two best friends really deserve some props for puliing this off - and they clearly know that all yellows are not the same. (i'm gonna be tradin in my beanie matching for somethin new.)


but this one here wins the prize cause i think it musta taken the most effort. it can't be easy to match that type of a color, and i can't imagine that he can wear that turban with too many other shirts; it's a one-shirt-turban. and what color is that anyway?


but ajay and his friends brought us back to the temple and explained the process of worshiping there. (i took notes if anyone is interested.) and then we went to the pakistan-india border for the dramatic border closing ceremony where the soilders face-off with staring and foot-pointing at each other. look at jenni's blog for that picture, if she posts it. my computer is way too slow to post anymore, and hers may be too slow too. lemme ask her real quick. yeah, hers is too slow too...