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FOCUS Photography Festival
Mumbai
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Prabhjot Singh Lotey (b. 1984, India) is a Punjab-based documentary photographer. He was introduced at an early age to the camera by his grandfather, and after finishing school, spent seven years working with him. He then left the family business and went to Delhi, where he learnt photography from Magnum photographer Raghu Rai and his son Nitin Rai. After completing his postgraduate diploma in Photography from Sri Aurobindo centre for Arts and Communication in 2009, he focused on documenting stories related to sports and children in India, which featured in newspapers and magazines such as Sunday Guardian and Papeles de la India. Currently based in Punjab, he has been documenting lives of Sikh youth, and their bond with the Sikh identity, thus exploring the land, people and religion.
Turban – Identity crisis in Sikhism
The Turban, a unique tradition and symbol of Sikhism, the world’s fifth largest religion boasting nearly 25 million adherents, is on the decline, vanishing from the lands of its origin; Punjab, India. An easily identifiable Sikh, with his long beard and turban, has lived in fear for many decades: be it the Sikh genocide of New Delhi, the turbulent period of Sikh militancy during the late 80s and early 90s in India, or the recent hatred spread worldwide that after 9/11. The ‘biggest threat’ has come from within as many Sikhs chose to abandon the turban post 90s following India’s economic growth and westernization. In recent years, the trend has risen alarmingly and the majority of Sikh youth have abandoned their identity.
In today’s era of globalization and modernization, the majority of Sikh youth is unable to identify with the religious and cultural identity of Sikhism which is a matter of concern and cause for investigation to find the reasons for this conflict between these two paths. This project was started with the aim of investigating these reasons by documenting the lives of the minority; the contemporary Sikh youth who have chosen to keep their identity and are trying to give a new lease of life to the turban in times of crises.
For the past two years, the artist has spent time exploring the lives of these young men and women who, despite being at a crossroad, are trying to find a new path which would lead Sikhism towards a better future.