The dastaar, as the Sikh turban is known, is an article of faith made mandatory by the founders of Sikhism. Not to be regarded as mere cultural paraphernalia, for a Sikh, keeping unshorn hair or wearing a turban is not a matter of choice but a matter of commitment to life. It represents the Sikh’s commitment to always be recognized and never be able to shun responsibility. Furthermore, the turban represents the sacrifices that the Sikh Gurus made for the right to religious freedom and for the rights of the poor and the downtrodden.

The dastaar, is created out of a long piece of cloth, ranging from four to eight meters in length. Each morning the tying of a turban can take anywhere from five to 10 minutes and includes folding the cloth, then carefully wrapping it around the head. Sikhs will wear their dastaar throughout the day as part of their outfit, coordinating the color with their clothes and the activities they have planned for the day. Sikh children are usually seen wearing a patka, which is a square piece of cloth with short strings off every corner. Until they are ready to tie a dastaar, they wear a patka to keep their hair clean and well kept and set them apart as Sikhs, the same purposes as the dastaar.