Baisakhi In India

Baisakhi

A rural festival celebrated in Punjab on 13th April, Baisakhi signifies the beginning of a New Year for the Punjabi community. It was on this day in 1699 that the tenth Sikh Guru, Guru Gobind Singh, founded the Khalsa Panth (the Sikh brotherhood) and gave the “5 Ks” (emblems of purity and courage) to his followers: kesh (unshorn hair), kangha (wooden comb), karra , (iron / steel bangle), kirpan (sword) and kachha (underwear). Sikhs therefore, celebrate this festival as a collective birthday with all-night revelries, Baisakhi Di Raat (night of feasting) or fairs, Baisakhi Da Mela. Prayer meetings and kirtans (singing of devotional songs) are organized in gurdwaras (Sikh temples) across the country. After the prayer, karah prasad is served to the congregation. The function ends with langar , the community lunch made and served by volunteers. The holy book of the Sikhs, 'Granth Sahib' is taken in a procession, led by the 'Panj Pyaras' (five senior Sikhs) who are symbolic of the original leaders. The main celebration takes place in the gurdwara at Anandpur Sahib, where the order was formed. Other major celebrations take place at Talwandi Sabo (where Guru Gobind Singh stayed for nine months and completed the recompilation of the Guru Granth Sahib) and at the Golden Temple in Amritsar (where water drawn from all the sacred rivers of India is poured into the huge tank surrounding the temple).

In the rural areas, Baisakhi signifies the harvest of the (main) wheat crop. Farmers give thanks for Mother Nature's bounty and pray for a better crop next year.