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| BAISAKHI |
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| Religion :
Hindu & Sikh |
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| In the month
of :
April |
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| In April, this day marks the beginning of the
Hindu solar new year. In fact this day is celebrated all over the country as
new year day under different names. It is also the time when the harvest is
ready to cut and store or sell. For the Sikh community Baisakhi has a very
special meaning. It was on this day that the last Guru Gobind Singh organised
the sikhs into Khalsa or the pure ones. By doing so, he eliminated the
differences of high and low and established that all human beings were
equal. |
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| Baisakhi has special significance for two of
India's major religious groups. For Hindus, it's the start of the new year, and
is celebrated with requisite bathing, partying, and worshipping. It's believed
that the goddess Ganga descended to earth thousands of years ago, and in her
honor many Hindus gather along the sacred Ganges River for ritual baths. The
action is centered in the holy cities along the Ganges in north India, or in
Srinagar's Mughal Gardens, Jammu's Nagbani Temple, or anywhere in Tamil Nadu.
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| Hindus plant poles wrapped in
flags of god-embroidered silk in front of their homes, and hang pots of brass,
copper or silver on top. Children wear garlands of flowers and run through the
streets singing "May the new year come again and again!" In Kerala the festival
is called Vishu, and includes fireworks, shopping for new clothes and
interesting displays called Vishu Kani. These are arrangements of flowers,
grains, fruits, cloth, gold, and money are viewed early in the morning, to
ensure a year of prosperity. In Assam, the festival is called Bohag Bihu, and
the community organizes massive feasts, music, and dancing. |
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| Sikhs assign quite a different meaning to
Baisakhi, and if you happen to be in a Punjabi village to catch the men
performing the wild bhangra dance, you'll get the picture. This strenuous dance
tells the story of the agricultural process, from tilling the soil through
harvesting. As the dholak (drum) changes beats, the dancing sequence
progresses, dramatizing plowing, sowing, weeding, reaping, and finally
celebrating. Baisakhi also commemorates the day in 1689 when Guru Gobing Singh
founded the Khalsa, the fighting Sikh brotherhood that donned the distinctive
Sikh outfits. Sikhs visit temples, such as the Golden Temple in Amritsar, where
the holy Granth is read, commemorating the day on which the Guru asked five
volunteers to offer their lives, then took them one at a time into a tent. He
emerged each time with a bloody sword, although he had in fact sacrificed a
goat. In honor the "Beloved Five," a series of parades are held, in which sets
of five men walk in front of the holy book with swords drawn. When the ceremony
is over, a round of feasting, music-making, and dancing begins, amid the
blossoming flowers and harvested grain. |
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