the keski club

as anyone with eyes can see, i wear a dastaar. dastaar, pagh, keski, turban, dumalla... call it what you will, every morning i choose to wrap 10-15 meters of cloth around my head out of respect and love for my Guru.
in Texas, this makes me slightly more interesting to passers by, but it doesn't really seem to effect the way people treat me. i guess i'm lucky in that.
now i'm in Amritsar, a city FILLED with Sikhs, there are turbans every where i look. but 99% of them are attached to men. where are all of my dastaar-wale sisters? if i look hard, i might see a bibi in a tiny keski covered with a chunni... but almost no girls in dastaars. so i stand out. a lot. ok, being white in a city of brown folks might also contribute, but i honestly think the dastaar is the bigger head turner here.
this is the first time i've been to india since i started wearing my dastaar. and i've noticed a HUGE change in the way people treat me. for example, the keski wale bibis seem to think i'm part of their club. everywhere i go, when i see a lady in a keski, she immediately says "Waheguru ji ka Khalsa, Waheguru ji ki Fateh!", and come to think of it, so do i. it's weird. it's great. the other ladies just stare at me like i'm an alien, but whenever i meet a lady in a keski, it's like i've met my long lost sister. it's cool. i like it. i feel welcome. i feel home.
the other thing that's changed is that the nihungs, the ones with the giant turbans and huge swords, the ones who settle their steel gaze on the horizon and don't turn their head as they walk... these Singhs have also started to greet me, to return my Fateh and my smile. i'm in shock! the other morning at Darbar Sahib, a stern looking nihung smiled sweetly to me and called me "bhenji". it melted my heart. and i suspect that this too is a by-product of my choice to wear my love for my Guru wrapped around my head.
i'm a stranger in this city, an alien in this country. i get a lot of weird looks and even some comments, i watch school children nudge their classmates and point and whisper when they see me. it's easy to feel like a freak when one is treated like this. but that one out of a hundred who smiles and says "Fateh" changes everything. and so the city of Guru Ram Das has become my second home. and it's not too bad. i like it here. thanks in part to the keski club.

Khalsa mero roop hai khaas.
The Khalsa is my complete image

Khalse maih hau karo nivaas.
I dwell in the khalsa

Khalsa mero mukh hai ang-aa.
Khalsa is my chief organ

Khalse ke hau sadh sadh sang-aa.
I am always with the khalsa

Khalsa mero mitr sakhaa-ee
Khalsa is my closest friend

Khalsa maat pitaa sukhdaa-ee
Khalsa is my mother, father & source of all comforts.

Khalsa meri jaat ar pat.
Khalsa is my caste & creed.

Khalsa sau maa kau utapat.
My creation is through the khalsa

Khalsa mero bhavan bhand-aa-raa.
I dwell in the khalsa who is a storehouse of all my requirements.

Khalse kar mero satk-aa-raa.
I am honoured because of the khalsa.

Khalsa mero pind par-aan.
Khalsa is my body & breath.

Khalsa meri jaan ki jaan.
Khalsa is my life & soul

Khalsa mera satgur poor-aa
Khalsa is my full-fledged Guru.

Khalsa mera sajan soor-aa.
Khalsa is my brave friend.

Khalsa mero budh ar giaan.
Khalsa is my wisdom & knowledge.

Khalse ka hau dhar-au dhiaan.
I always contemplate the khalsa prayerfully

Upmaa khalsae jaath na kahi
Eulogy of the khalsa is beyond me.

Jihv-aa ek paar nah lahi.
I cannot fathom full praise of the khalsa with one tongue.

Ya mai ranch na mithe-aa bhaakh-ee.
I certify that I have not mis-stated anything in the foregoing.

Paarbrahm gur Nanak saak-ee.
God & Guru Nanak are my witnesses to endorse the foregoing truth