When I heard of the hate crime in which a school-going Sikh student’s patka — cloth used by Sikh youth to cover their heads — was burnt in New Jersey in the United States, I could not but recollect one of my own experiences while I was abroad. While the burning of the Sikh student’s patka showed the negative side of how human beings react to an alien culture, my experience — more than two decades back — was diametrically opposite. In fact, the episode — which shall be etched in my memory forever — clearly showed that the natural reaction to something unknown or alien is not to just shun or mock it but also to be curious about it and actually learn something new. There is also a very thin line between respecting diversity and mocking something alien. While studying in grade one in the United Kingdom, I once encountered a not so pleasant situation. My patka came off and I was too young to tie my own patka — in any case I am a slow learner in certain things and would like to confess that I still dread tying any sort of knot, whether a tie or a shoe lace! I might also like to add that those days were very different from the present day — where the patka may be something unusual but not alien, thanks to the cricketing skills of Monty Panesar.One of my teachers was nice enough, however, to actually muster up something which was supposed to be a patka but looked far different from it. But what was really great and, in fact, really touching was that my teacher actually made it a point to come home and ask my parents about the significance of the patka and to learn how to tie it, perhaps better than my parents could. It did not take very long for my teacher’s patka tying skills to be tested as a few days later I went for swimming with the whole class and, naturally after a swim, the patka had to be retied. My teacher actually managed to tie it quite well and I remember how she looked towards my parents for approval like an innocent school-going toddler looks towards her teacher. Not only did my teacher actually get a compliment for the patka, but was also invited home for a sumptuous Indian tea.
