This past week, I received a package in the mail that gave me goosebumps when I opened it. It was a plush of a Sikh boy wearing a patka. I’d dreamed of seeing something like this as a child. Now, in my fourth decade of life, I was finally holding one. I can’t put into words what it felt like.
The plush—or as my kids’ call it, “stuffie”— was so artfully and professionally done. It was accompanied by a new children’s book featuring the same Sikh boy in a patka. I read the book and learned his name is Harman.
I put down the book but held onto the stuffie. I couldn’t stop smiling. I thought back to what I wanted for myself as a kid, and I thought also about what I now want for my own kids. Someone had finally done this—for all of our kids. I wanted to know who, and more than that, I wanted to know how to support them.
I learned through a letter in the package that the creator is a woman based in Toronto named Robin Baweja. She started a new company called Dear Mommy to help improve children’s confidence, resilience, and mental health. Harman was one of the many products she had created to achieve this goal.
I reached out to Robin and told her how much I connected with the product and the vision. I also told her I wanted to help ensure that Sikhs all over the continent and all around the world have the opportunity to hold this stuffie in her hands. I told her I could imagine that thousands of us would want to gift it to families and friends in our lives.
Robin graciously agreed. The plush of Harman is 25 CDN. The plush and book together are 40 CDN. Robin’s also offered a discount code for 15% off if you enter the code HARMAN25. They ship free to the US if you spend $65 or more. And if you are looking for a larger discount for a bulk order, you can contact Robin here for more information.
I’m the father of two young girls. I think a lot about preparing them for our world. How can we ensure they’re proud of who they are and not so easily affected by what other people think about them?
We started early, instilling ideas that would build confidence. We got books that had characters that looked like them. We bought dolls who looked like them, too: darker skin, brown eyes, long hair. Our girls really identified with them, and my hope is that as they grow older, they continue to carry their confidence with them, especially when the world barrages them with messages that they are not enough.
I’ve thought a lot about representation over my lifetime, likely because of my experiences as a Sikh in the United States. I’ve felt firsthand the consequences of being underrepresented and misrepresented. For our community, people not knowing us has often meant exclusion and violence.
It’s why I’ve devoted so much of my life and career to increasing understanding. Awareness won’t fix all the problems of our world, but it can help address some of what ails us the most. It feels especially important as I’m thinking about the world we are creating for our children.
This is why I feel so grateful to others who are doing this work and try to support it whenever I can. I hope you will do the same today by purchasing plushes of Harman for the young children in your life.