Nothing stirs a Sikh like Baisakhi. It is a mega event – a religious festival, harvest festival and New Year’s Day all rolled into one. 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 stored.
For the Sikh community, Baisakhi has a very special meaning. It was on this day die last 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.
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 religious formalities. It’s believed that the goddess Gannga descended to earth thousands of years ago, and in her honour many Hindus gather along the sacred Ganges River for ritual baths.
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The action is centered on the holy cities along the Ganges in north India. 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 Vislim Kani. In Assam, the festival is called Bohag Bibu, and the community organises massive feasts, music, and dancing.
Sikhs assign quite a different meaning to Baisakhi, and if you happen to be in a Punjabi village to catch the men performing the bhangra dance, you’ll get the real 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, dramatising ploughing, sowing, weeding, reaping, and finally celebrating.
Baisakhi also commemorates the day in 1689 when Guru Gobind 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 honour die ‘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.