In modern Scotland the curry is as much a national dish as the haggis, and the country's national dress has caught up with its eating habits with the creation of the first Asian tartan (Shirley English writes).
The Singh Tartan has officially taken its place alongside the plaids of the clans Campbell and MacDonald. It was commissioned by Sirdar Iqbal Singh, a retired Indian businessman and Robert Burns enthusiast, who renamed his Hebridean island of Eilean Vacsay after the bard. Lochcarron of Scotland, the world's largest tartan manufacturer, designed the new plaid.
Mr. Singh, 67, who lives in Little Castle, a turreted Elizabethan mansion in Lesmahagow, South Lanarkshire, and holds the title Lord of Butley Manor, Suffolk, said that he was proud of his new family colours which he invited all Singhs to wear. "I remember thinking 'I'm in Scotland, so why not have my own tartan?' I'm particularly pleased that it has been launched in same year as Scotland celebrates devolution and the Sikhs celebrate the tricentenary of our religion," he said.
The new plaid, which is on display at Paisley Museum, incorporates the Singh family colour of blue, yellow for peace, green to represent the landed gentry and red as a tribute to Gertrude, his Swiss wife. There are also smatterings of white.
The Singh tartan has been registered by the Scottish Tartans Society. Keith Lumsden, a society researcher said: "One should not be surprised that the Indians take to tartan. The Gurkhas wore tartan as did many other Indian regiments."
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