The whispers were too loud for not to be reacted upon.

"What's that potato doing on your head?" another school student sniped at my brother.

“Should I bring in a razor to make it easy for you”? Another passerby prowled at my husband.

In India people are aware of the communities that exist and the sect that we Sikhs belong to. Sikhism, the world's fifth-largest religion, has more than 20 million followers, of whom many of them are currently inhabitants of Canada and United Kingdom. It never was easy for us after September 2001 that we were mistaken for the other lot. Many of you might be not be aware that Sikh men never shave their facial hair and wear turbans and hence these rude remarks.

Sikh faith, which stresses that all people - men and women - and all faiths are equal in the eyes of God. Because Sikhs consider their hair a gift from God, they never shave their beard or cut their hair. Guru Gobind Singh ji introduced the Kesh-Kangha privilege: Kesh (or hair) as a symbol of acceptance of the Creator's given form, and Kangha (or comb) to take care of the Kesh...to keep it healthy and clean.

Every Sikh’s daily routine is to comb his hair and tie it in a bun and neatly hide it under the turban. During summer he wears a patka, a thin and less clothed material for covering the head. It is a part of getting ready ritual; there are no two thoughts about it. Life is all about choices, you always have a choice not to do so not because it is customary or it is asked for by you. But you have strong faith in the choices you make that makes me be a proud wife to a man I love.

The title may come out as strong but yeah we are no aliens from outer space, stop those glares. Traveling abroad and sightseeing is never easy, as confusion with the other lot which was bound to happen. People resisted talking to us, however in Europe in smaller cities such as Gothenburg, Sweden where the population of Sikhs is less, people stare and wonder where do these strange looking people come from. Looking for jobs and homes became even more critical, there is no prejudice as such but they are just ignorant to a diverse culture as us.

Many passer by where curious as to why we dressed in the way we did, many when they knew appreciated the culture and loved the different perspective of life we had. Generally speaking from personal experience people abroad are very guarded about their personal space and hence when they got to talk and know how aware we are of the world things got a lot easier. London is a lot easier for us, there are many Sikhs out there and so many gurudwaras we also met the elite class Punjabis who made it big there. It was a home away from home and London was a total contrast in response we got on the streets as well.

Personally this hub means the world for me, as it is an undying love and respect that I have for our community for all those who are striving for it. My husband is not amrit dhari but is a Sikh who has never cut his beard or hair since he has been born. Since the time our marriage was on cards, my friends had raised issues which never bothered me as to why would you marry a bearded man. The reason I chose a turban wearing man was because for me, attractiveness comes from within. I saw his personality and that is what I fell in love with. He is the best looking hunk in all the Punjabis in the city, even if I wanted to would never trade him for anything in this world.

My hubby is into English and Hindi music, a successful software engineer and loves cricket and football. His favorite program on TV is top car when he is not watching news that is.  They think a turban and a not being a shaven guy means something bad or makes him a lesser person. For me all Sikh I know in the family and near and dear ones are rock stars.I wish they'd take the time to learn the truth, to know us better.