VADODARA: 72 year-old Avantilal Chavla has possibly the largest collection of turbans in India. Turban is a kind of headwear specially known for its binding. Turban is most commonly wore by men and is manually tied. The binding of the turban varies from communities to communities. Usually, a turban is made up of a cotton cloth and are vibrant to look at.
Shri Guru Nanak. Image Source: Wikimedia Commons
A turban is a pride for Sikhs. All the Gurus of Sikhs wear turban. A turban is also known as Pagree and Dastar in Punjab. Wearing a turban is an official policy among Sikhs and their last Guru, Guru Gobind Singh has made it mandatory to wear Turban. In Sikhism, a turban represents that the person wearing it shows respect of Sikh's teachings and promote equality. It is one of the methods to preserve Sikh identity.
A TOI report said, not only Sikhs but also some Christians, Rastafaris, Islams and people believing in Judaism wear Turban. Turban is not popular only in India but also in various foreign countries like Fiji, Indonesia, Pakistan, UK, Greece, Myanmar, Pakistan, Armenia and others.
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Avantilal Chavla, a turban maker from Vadodra has a World record of having the largest collection of Turbans. Chavla started making Turbans at a very young age. He had a record of making 20 types of turban in 25 years starting from 1988. Chavla was a professor in the Department of Dramatics in MS University and is currently retired. Chavla is the first person who is PhD on turban in 1989.
Avantilal Chavla with his turban collection. Image Source: Wikimedia Commons
Chavla belongs from Ratlam and is now a perfect Gujarati. Chavla has been granted a sum of Rs 1 lakh to display his collection at the workshop cum exhibition, which would be organized next month in New Delhi. The fund was granted to him by Sangeet Natak Academy.
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The World's biggest Turban can be seen at the Western Zone Cultural Centre in Udaipur. The turban is made by Chavla. The turban measures around 151 inches and has a circumference of 11 feet. It weighs around 30 kilograms and is 7 inches thick, said the TOI report.
World's largest turban. Image Source: Wikimedia Commons
Chavla collection also includes turban of Maharaja of Baroda, Thakore Sahibs of Jamnagar, Morbi, Limbdi, Wadhavan and others. Chavla can also bind a turban in just five minutes.
-This article is compiled by a staff-writer at NewsGram.
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