Revelation-Sikhs and pleats

[NorCalPiper]

Sometimes it happens...Something completely arbitrary gives insight into something else. I was talking to my wife's brother in India the other day, and while we were talking, he noted that he could see the Sadarji (Thats actually the proper term for Sikh) across the street on his porch wrapping his turban and laughing because "He can't get his pleats right". That just kept buzzing in my head for some reason. Living in Nor-Cal, we have probably the largest grouping of Sadarjis in America, so you see them quite often. Anyway, I saw a huge family of them at the target today, and right then I remembered about the pleating. I NEVER have paid attention to the turban, and I thought it was a generic thing that was tied the same way by all. But as I studied them, I noticed that each one of the men's turbans had their own unique style of wrapping it. All of them were wrapped in a pleated style, but each one had a little different way of doing it, so none of them looked alike. Here's a link for just a few of the styles hat you can do if you're having a hard time understanding this up to this point-

http://www.sikhnet.com/pages/tyingturbans

OK-My point. I have seen NUMEROUS paintings and such of belted plaids that had different styles of pleating. I often asked myself, "Why is this guys kilt pleated all the way around", "Why does this highlander have his apron covering only half the front", etc. Sadarjis hand tie their turbans everyday, and thus unique ways and styles that appeal to the wearer are worn that may not be the same as another wearer. Scots, wearing belted plaids must have also had a fan of different pleating styles. A garment that is hand pleated daily will surely have different styles and fads amongst the many....Too bad we only see the general way of wearing a belted plaid (Lying down on a bed of pleats, sliding the belt through and then wrapping and belting). I would have loved to see the many styles that people employed back in the day......

Sorry if this post seemed strange...Just something that got me thinking.

[Bugbear]

No, that makes sense.

[Highlander31]

That makes sense. When I first tried pleating my great kilt I did it on the ground. Then I read instructions Tartan Web had for pleating while standing, which is the method I now use. It would be interesting to see how many different ways a great kilt could be pleated, i.e. number and depth of pleats, variation of apron size, plaid positions, etc.

[Pleater]

There is even the instruction to take 6 metres of turban fabric, cut it into two 3 metre lengths and join along the long edge - sounds really rather familiar.

There are double width and single width turbans - curiouser and curiouser!!

Turbans for women and children too.

Even saffron turbans.

Perhaps some sort of convergent evolution occured?

Anne the Pleater :ootd:

[Smayniac]

Even saffron turbans.

Perhaps some sort of convergent evolution occured?

Anne the Pleater :ootd:

I had an Indian customer look at my computer wallpaper one day; I had a piece from a now defunct website dedicated to Loki back then. He said it bore strong resemblances to elements of Indian folklore.

Bob

[The Monk]

I had an Indian customer look at my computer wallpaper one day; I had a piece from a now defunct website dedicated to Loki back then. He said it bore strong resemblances to elements of Indian folklore.

Bob

I'm just finishing up a good book on Celtic history (I'd tell you the title and author, but I'm at my son's house and the book is home in the john). The author makes a big point about the extent of Celtic migration, from Ireland/England/Scotland to India, and offers a lot of examples of the striking similarities in customs, artifiacts and language. Based on that book, I'm not surprised at the similarity.

[Tobus]

I noticed that each one of the men's turbans had their own unique style of wrapping it. All of them were wrapped in a pleated style, but each one had a little different way of doing it, so none of them looked alike.

One wonders if they have the "turban police" constantly running around correcting people like we have the "kilt police" here.

Based on your observations, it would seem that they don't.

[Pleater]

One wonders if they have the "turban police" constantly running around correcting people like we have the "kilt police" here.

Based on your observations, it would seem that they don't.

Ah now - it is the same reason that animal activists do not go around chastising Hells Angels for wearing leather - something to do with the Darwin awards I believe.

Anne the Pleater :ootd:

[Galician]

We have many Sadarji here too. I have even stumbled upon their large, annual public celebration here whilst kilted (and got a great reception, especially from the older folks there--figured brought back memories of the Empire).

I shall have to keep my eyes open to see if I can see such differences among them.

[Panache]

Josh,

Think about something as basic as the way a man ties his tie or bow tie. Even with the standard knots there all manner or room for personal touches.
Even more basic, how about the way we wear a scarf? One short length of material yet one can do a huge number of things with it. Unlike the tailored kilt, the great kilt lends itself to all manner of individualistic touches.

I for one think this is great, absolute uniformity in dress should be for uniforms only.

Cheers

Jamie :ootd: