About Manjeet Singh Ferozpuria
Manjeet Singh Ferozpuria was born in village Mallu Wala, Dist Ferozepur (Punjab) on 26th March, 1989. He did his schooling from Mallu Wala and completed his Graduation from Guru Nanak College, Ferozepur Cantt. His love for turban tying started from the mere age of 11 years when he had just enetered class 6th. The style he choose was one of the prevelent at those times i.e. Pochvi Pagg (Morni). His passion for turban was passed down by his elder brother, Gurmeet Singh Ferozepuria who at that time used to tie a turban and go to school. In his early days of wearing a turban he choose to tie a 5.5m double pagg which now has changed to 8m. The first time he wore a turban that was tied by his elder brother. So when he went to school with his turban on he was appreciated by his fellow classmates and even his school teachers. They all had smiles on their faces when they saw that even a 11 year old child had started wearing a turban to school. This appreciation for Manjeet meant much more which pumped him up to tie a much better turban for the next day to his school and many days to come. With all this inspiration and love Manjeet had a dream to take the SIKH DASTAAR to such a level in the world that every young sikh boy would be seen in a well tied turban. In almost a span of a week's time he had mastered the art of tying a dastaar.Large Blog Image As the days passed by he often use to see pamphlets/posters of turban tying competion in his village and some even in other cities. So he started participating in them. He still remembers the first competition he had participated in the year 2000 where he had stood Third place and the person who stood first joked with him that you could never tie a turban like me and achieve a first place. This very statement hit him very hard on his mind and he pledged to himself that he would prove the world wrong and tie a beaturiful turban which would be appreciated by each and everyone. In the very next competition he again faced the same person who had joked with him but to his suprise he outlasted him and achieved the first position. He was awarded a certificate and trophy which still is a priced possession for him and is arranged with all his achievement. Post these inter distric turban competititions Manjeet started visiting other states and won many awards their also. Till date he has yet to any such competition. Few years passed by and Manjeet had completed his 10+2 (high school). One day when he had to attend a family function and was tying his turban his mother interrupted and got angry at him and said that, "Better than you were those elderly people who took 5 to 7 minutes to tie a turban while you have already taken 25 minutes and not even finished." Gathering these thoughts Manjeet got one thing right in his mind that he cannot waste so much time in tying the turban and that he must be ready in about 5 to 7 minutes. So first he mastered the timing aspect and took merely 10 minutes. But he was not satisfied and thought he could do better. So he kept on trying again and again. In about 3 to 4 months time he had practicised so hard that he brought down his timing to about 3 minutes. Manjeet then learnt all the different styles of turban tying like Amritsari,Patiala Shahi & Dumala. Once he had broken the time barrier. he wanted to do something which no one has ever tried i.e. to tie a turban without a mirror. This was also acheived in a few months. Next he wanted to tie turban's in situations people haven't thought of such as while walking,riding pillion to a biker/car etc. With hard work and dedication the seeds sown once had borne fruits and that everything was achieved in a certain time frame.
In the year 2007 while Manjeet was graduating from college his one and only hobby that was turban tying was in full swing and he had thought of opening a Dastaar Academy. With support from his family and friends he opened up the same in the city of Bathinda. This academy was open for the youth to learn from Ferozepuria and even if someone was getting married would he visit them and tie their turbans. As few months passed by many ideas came to his mind and one such was to tie a turban blind folded. Many people till date think this is not possible but Manjeet has proved everyone wrong by doing such. Initially he tied his own turban blind folded and later on went on tying others turban with his eyes blinded. One had to see to believe that even blind folded Manjeet not only gave a proper shape to the turban but also each and every "lard" from starting to the end was titch perfect with accuracy. To some people it looked like it was the work of an artesian. With this very moment Manjeet's confidence grew many folds.
In 2012,at the 3rd World Kabaddi Cup, Guru Nanak Stadium, Ludhiana, Manjeet was invited by the title Sponsor to perform at the closing ceremony. His performance was appreciated by the likes of Prakash & Sukhbir Singh Badal. Later on he was also interviewed by many TV NEWS CHANNEL like PTC,Chardikala Time,CNEV News, Pothimala Halchal, Fast Way News, 7C News, Sahara Canada,Jagoo Punjab,MH1 News,Live Today,Day & Night News Channel. Apart from the on and off interviews, Star Plus called upon Manjeet for a very special performance for their show "Aapka Star Aapka Shahar" which took place in Sector-17, Chandigarh which aired on the television on 29th June, 2014 where Manjeet was successful in tying a persons turban in under a minute (precisely 59 seconds). Folllowing this programme Manjeet had other plans in relation to turban tying, one of which was to tie someone else's turban blind folded in something as less than 22 seconds. He achieved this feat with gods grace on 5th July, 2014 in Gurudwara Dukh Niwaran Sahib, Patiala. Manjeet's popularity grew by many folds and he was often invited for judgement at various state and national level turban tying competition all around India(Delhi,Punjab,Haryana,Jammu). Internationally, Manjeet has had the oppurtuntity to visit Malayasia and Singapore where he was called upon by his fans so that they could learn how to tie a turban just like him.
Ferozpuria Dastar Academy
As previously mentioned in the events of his life, Manjeet Singh Ferozepuria Dastaar Academy was given birth in April, 2007 while Manjeet was graduating from college. This academy till date stands at the same location i.e. Street 12, Ajit Road (Near Dhillon Hospital), Bathinda (Punjab). People from all states and all ages whether it be Maharashtra, Kolkatta,Srinagar, Panipat, Delhi, United States of America, Canada ,UK etc have had the oppurtunity to come and learn at the Academy the different styles of Pagg. The training being imparted at this very institution is very methodological. In no sense has a shortcut been applied to learn this very art of turban tying. In less than 3 days and as much as 10 days one can learn any style of pagri from Manjeet's Academy. 2007 to present Manjeet has trained almost over 60,000 people. He's also been invited by people all around the globe for turban tying at their marriages. With this academy located in Bathinda, Manjeet plans to expand it to other major cities which are easily accessed and can cater to a larger mass of people.The Tribune Turban Article
Dastar or turban is the pride of the Sikh community — a symbol that sets it apart; a symbol of honour, courage, and reverence for the Sikh Gurus and their teachings. Tying the traditional 8-metre turban needs a deft hand, as the soft 3x4 copy muslin is swiftly folded and neatly pleated around the head. The younger generation of Sikhs, especially in foreign lands, is not familiar with the technique; the reams of cloth can be challenging. And this is where Manjit Singh Ferozepuria comes in, to lend a helping hand. A turban wizard, Manjit Singh can tie his turban blindfolded, precise to the minutest details, in 22 seconds flat. Not just that, blindfolded, he can also tie a turban on another head. What pushed Manjit Singh to it, however, has its genesis in an unpleasant experience. “It happened one day when I was in college in 2010. A friend, Baljinder Singh, poked fun at me while I was tying my turban before rushing for the classes. He called me a paindu Yankee (villager attempting to look western). I was deeply offended, following which we had an animated discussion on the legacy behind the turban as a symbol, bestowed by the 10th Guru, Guru Gobind Singh, on the Khalsa Panth,” says Manjit Singh, who is much-sought-after by the Indian community abroad to teach their children the art of tying a turban. “I went through a lot of inner turmoil. I thought I should do something to carry on the legacy of dastaar as a symbol of spirituality and self-respect. I quit studies after my graduation from DAV College, Bathinda. There has been no looking back. I got a lot of local support from youngsters who were interested in carrying a neat look. I made my passion, my profession. Ironically, I also tied the turban of Baljinder Singh on his wedding,” chuckles Manjit Singh. Hailing from Malluwala village in Ferozepur district, 25-year-old Manjit has been holding such classes in Singapore and Malaysia to teach Sikh youths how to tie a turban. He will be travelling to Europe this month to hold workshops in various countries. A whopping 7.8 lakh follow him on his Facebook account. “People these days,” says Manjit Singh “are experimenting with their turban, unlike earlier times when the shape of a turban was associated with particular communities. There are nearly a dozen ways to sport a turban. I am good at Pochvin, Patiala Shahi, Amritsar Dhamala, Chand Tora Dhamala and Patka Keski styles. I get requests for weaving the knots for the headgear of Hindu grooms as well, besides requests from youths to give them the ‘Bhagat Singh look’ on special occasions.” Manjit Singh hogged headlines in local newspapers when he tied a turban straddling two motorcycles during the international kabaddi match hosted by the Punjab Government in 2013. For this, the crowd gave him a standing ovation. Manjit Singh has also taught Anantvir Singh, son of Punjab Deputy Chief Minister Sukhbir Singh Badal, how to tie a turban,
The International Turban Events
I am going to share about a person which is the one of the great personality in sikh culture and traditions. His name is Sardar Manjeet Singh Ferozpuria ( International Turban coach). Now I am going to share about his Europe tour where he spent 2 months over there and he wants to share some joyful moments. First of all he wants to thank Sardar Balwinder Singh Gurdaspuria How is a great fan of Sardar Manjeet Singh and was following him through social sites (facebook, wikipedia, youtube etc) and he Was influenced By his turban art and sponcered him to europe as a turban trainer to develop the growing sikh culture in europeon countries...Germany Gori BoyNow i am going to share about his journey, He took flight from IGT Delhi on April 5th to Germany Dusseldorf Airpot. He was welcomed by Sardar Balwinder Singh and By his Sew friends. He started his first Turban Training Camp on April 7th Augsburg City Germany. Lot of youth came to join training camp even they were Not sikh people but they Were inspired and influenced by sikhism and took part in the camp. Camp was organised at Gurdwara Singh Sabha(Germany). He organised camp over there for 3 days and lot of fans from india and other different parts of europe influenced from this camp And More Over That Manjeet SinghGot 50 Thousant Likes in a single day of the camp and got invitation from many other countries of europe . He organised his next camps in Munchen city at Gurdwara Nanak Sabha, Frankfurt city at Gurdwara Sikh centre, Kolon city at Gurdwara Shabad Parkash, Asenberg city at Gurdwara Nanaksar. Sardar Manjeet Singh and Sardar Balwinder Singh was honoured by Gurdwara parbhandak society Nanaksar,Asenberg.
Sardar manjeet Singh further organised his turban training camps in Austria, Poland, Holland, Spain, Belgian, France. On the behalf of Sardar Kulwant Singh Khalsa he organised a special turban training camps in Italy and when he Had arrived at Rome airport upto 100 youth was waiting for welome in Italy. First camp in Italy was organised at Gurdwara Singh sabha, Flour city and other camps were organised at Gurdwara’s Kilgidhar, Guru Nanak Dev Ji.