Gur Kirpal Singh Ashk,TNN

One of the key attractions at New York’s Rockefeller Centre is a life-size picture of a turban-clad young Sikh. The 20-feet-high mural of the 20-year-old Sandeep Singh Caberwal has the Sikh community buzzing, with messages pouring in from across the globe praising him for turning his religious identity into a fashion statement.

It all began with an advertisement that Caberwal, born and raised in Asheboro, North Carolina, responded to. The end result is such that Caberwal was honoured during the fifth annual Capitol Hill Dinner organized by the US-based Sikh Council On Religion & Education (Score) on June 11.

In October 2007, Caberwal, a graduate of the Law School at Georgetown University, Washington, DC, came across the following advertisement by fashion designer Kenneth Cole: "A Sikh male, about 25 to 35 years old, who is ‘attractive’. If this works for you, please e-mail your picture at the very latest by 10am on Thursday morning."

The incentive for responding — the short-listed person would get "a couple of thousand" dollars, with the shoot held in New York on "either the 18th, 19th, 25th or 26th of this month (October)".

Cole was looking for a fresh face for a worldwide campaign titled 'Non Uniform Thinkers' to mark the brand's 25th anniversary. The focus of the ad campaign: "We all walk in different shoes."

Caberwal, who was running the Tavalon Tea Company in New York, responded to the ad and turned into an overnight celebrity and a sought-after model.

Caberwal's friend Inni Kaur said: "That naughty look, with a beautiful face that rarely smiles is, in my opinion, the right image for Kenneth Cole."

And, it seems to have worked. Sikhs, from Canada to India, have written in to congratulate Caberwal, who currently lives in San Francisco with his wife Dilpreet Kaur, on his achievement — especially at a time when the community feels it is being increasingly racially profiled in the US post 9/11, and elsewhere in the world too, as it struggles to maintain its religious identity.

India-based Inderjeet Singh Chadha wrote to Caberwal, saying: "We're all proud of you. You have represented the true image of Sikhism. It is a lesson for the French and Indian governments. And, it serves as a great role model for young Sikhs."

Agrees Bakhsish Singh from Brampton, Canada, who said: "Indeed, a proud moment. It will be an inspiration for others, especially those who shun their identity to become 'fashionable'. This shows the true spirit of a Sardar."