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FATEHPAL SINGH TARNEY
Here are a few more adventures from my early days as a Sikh.
The first one is a very early one; the second occurred much later. At the time, they did not seem that funny, but in retrospect, …
When I first began to tie a dastar, despite getting lots of assistance from dear friends, my results when tying on my own were not good at all.
My wife who, at that time, I referred to as “The Begum,” a term I got from a film set during the British Raj, told me that the longer I spent tying it; the worse it looked. She made a good point.
[I abandoned the name “Begum” for her, of course, after a Sardar informed me that ‘Begum’ was a term usually used for Muslim ladies.]
Anyway, one Sunday, after struggling with my dastar for about an hour with pathetic results, I went to our gurdwara where a friend said, “Fateh ji, your fifti is showing too much!”
I immediately looked down …
My wife -- a.k.a. The Raj Dulari -- and I were in New York City and hailed a cab. I noticed the taxiwalla’s name on the license posted on the dashboard. It was something like “Iftikar Ali Khan.”
Therefore, I wished him “Assalamu 'alaykum.” The taxiwalla responded with “Wa'alaykum salam,” followed by: “Sardar ji, how did you know I was a Muslim?”
I simply pointed to his name. He told me he was from Pakistan and proceeded to drive quite aggressively. I became concerned and asked him if he was from Lahore as he was driving “Punjabi style.” He replied that he was from Karachi where he said they drive just as crazy as in Punjab!
My wife was squeezing my hand out of fright and I pleaded with him to slow down. He then said, “Don’t worry, Sardar ji, we are in the hands of Allah!”
I replied: “Yes, we are in the hands of God, but unfortunately God is not driving this cab!”
November 24, 2014
Conversation about this article
1: Sangat Singh (Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia), November 24, 2014, 5:35 PM.
When the tourist landed in Delhi, he was told to look for a Sardar taxi driver. Having found one, the taxi-driver drove like a 'kamakazi' (suicide pilot). When admonished that he was a bad driver, he replied: "No sir, I am the better one of the lot; the bad ones are all dead." Fatehpal Singh ji, let's have some more delightful stories. Humour is an important part of Sikhi. It is not dry. Take Nihangs as a colourful example.