Baisakhi- A Time to Celebrate and Rejoice!

When talking about Baisakhi, a lot of images float before our eyes. This is the day when Sikh community indulge in a lot of celebrations.This day is considered to be one of the most popular and prestigious Sikh festival. This day is also celebrated as the Sikh’s New Year. Khalsa Panth also came into existence on this very day. The year, 1699 first saw the celebration of this festival when Guru Gobind Singh formed Khalsa Panth that was created in order to fight oppression and tyranny. Another story that is related to this day is Guru Teg Bahadur Singh’s martyrdom.

Baisakhi in 2014 – 14th April 2014

Considered to be one of the most popular and prestigious Sikh festivals, this day is observed with a lot of gaiety and enthusiasm. Farmers celebrate this day as a harvest festival. This is the time when Rabi crops are ready for harvesting. A lot of gidda and bhangra with foot thumping music mark this day. This festival is observed on the first day of Vaisakha month as per Sikh calendar. Usually, this day falls on 13 th of April every year.

Celebrations Galore

# This day is celebrated with a lot of exuberance;

# Since this festival has high religious significance it is also celebrated in Gurudwaras where people belonging to the Sikh community offer their prayers;

# The preparations for this day begins quite early in the morning;

# A Holy dip in the river marks the beginning of this glorious day;

# After Baisakhi ardas in the neighbourhood Gurudwara, they receive Kada Prasad and later a community lunch;

# Since this day is equally important for the farmers, one can hear the loud cries of “Jatta aai Baisakhi”;

# Dhol music and ballads accompanies gidda and bhangra;

# In many Punjab villages, local fairs are also organized where shops selling a variety of products can be seen;

Customs and Traditions

# A lot of gusto and charm is seen when following local customs and traditions;

# People belonging to Sikh community wake up early and take a holy bath;

# Neighborhood Gurudwaras organizes Baisakhi ardas;

#   Once prayers are over, sacred Kadaprasad is distributed among devotees;

# Later, people enjoy community lunch, also referred to as langar;

# Many people act as volunteers and serve other people with great devotion as this service is considered to be quite significant as part of seeking blessings of the Guru;

# On this day of Baisakhi, a procession is also carried out with sacred Guru Granth Sahib;

# Panj Pyaras lead this procession;

# Every member of Sikh community becomes a part of this procession;

# Mock duels, gidda and bhangra, is also performed in the procession on the beats of drummers;

# Loud cries of “Bole so nihal, sat sri aakal”, “deg teg fateh”, “Wahe Guru” and “Satnam” can be heard from a distance;

# In some places of Punjab, these processions are carried out before Baisakhi;

This festival is celebrated all over the country with great enthusiasm and joie di vivre. This festival is truly a symbol of utmost faith in religion and love and devotion for the Mother Nature

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