Category: Festival

Happy Basakhi

 

 

Punjabi New Year…

Today is magical as Punjabis all over the world celebrate Basākhī (also pronounced Visākhī).  It’s a festival of great joy, fervor and reverence.  Not only does it mark the start of the harvest season in Punjab but also celebrates the day Guru Gobind Singh created the ‘Khalsa panth’ that organized the Sikhs into a military/martial race to be reckoned with.  This is a very significant festival that I look forward to celebrating all year.

For me this festival will be tomorrow, and about 12 hours behind LA time!  I will be going to the LA convention center, where i will land in a sea of color (all punjabis know to wear their best and boldest colors); the gurudwara will be decorated beautifully and I will feel the divine in the Shabads;  the ‘kara parshad’ and ‘langar’ will be warm and delicious,  plus there will be warm jalebis coming right out of the pan; the bazaar will be buzzing with folks buying and bargaining; I will hear the energetic and mesmerizing ‘dhol’ (and maybe see some spontaneous ‘bhangra’ and ‘giddha’ dance performance, or singing of ‘boliyans’ or ‘tappas’); I will see ‘gatka’ for sure; and of course the ‘nagar kirtan’ (street procession) thru the streets of downtown LA where lots of free food and drinks will be offered to Angelenos!

I can’t wait for tomorrow & hopefully I will upload all the pictures.  Now its time to iron my clothes and prep for tomorrow….

 

PS-  Uncovered an interesting fact from my father.  The Khalsa was formed on March 31st by the 10th Guru (based on the punjabi calendar) but now it’s celebrated each year on April 13th.

The Festival of ‘Hola Mohalla’

 

Each year, I hear about the festival of ‘Hola Mohalla’ from my Chachaji from ‘Pind’ (village).  His fervor and eagerness to go to Anandpur Sahib to partake in the festivities and set up for the ‘Langar Seva’ (selfless service as a free kitchen), plus the photos that I have seen of the jubilation and revelry intrigues me to not only attend it one day, but also is very reminiscent of a bygone era!  It also invokes great reverence for the 10th guru, Guru Gobind Singh, who was getting ordinary Sikhs physically and mentally ready to take on a mighty Mughal Army and challenge its emperor Aurangzeb, who was conducting unimaginable and bloodcurdling autocracies.  The quote of Guru Gobind Singh’s that comes to mind is “chirian te mein baaz ludaun, gidran to mein sher banaun, sawa lakh se ek ladaun, tabe Gobind singh Naam kahaun’ (only shall I be called Gobind Singh, when I train the sparrow to fight the hawk, I turn jackals into lions, and I make one Sikh fight a legion of hundred thousand’).  I feel if I was there I would invoke the spirit and presence of the guru himself!

So what is this festival ‘Hola Mohalla‘?  It is a three-day martial arts festival which is held annually during spring time, in Anandpur Sahib, the day after ‘Holi’ (the festival of colors) is celebrated. So this year Holi falls on March 21st, so Hola Mohalla will be celebrated March 22nd to the 24th! Some say that the word ‘Hola’ is a masculine variant of the word ‘Holi’, but the best explanation I found is by Bhai Kahan Singh, who points that the world ‘Hola’ is derived from the word ‘Halla’ (pronounced Hul-la) which means to attack, to assault or to descend upon, while the term ‘Mohalla (pronounced Ma-halla) stands for an organized parade or procession.  So together, it means the ‘the charge of the cavalry or armies’.  This makes sense given that the Sikhs and Nihangs gather to display their valor and prowess in a militaristic manner, and the festivities include demonstrations of swordsmanship, fancy foot works, ‘Gatka’, horsemanship, tent pegging, bareback horse riding, etc. Also battlefield mastery is demonstrated thru mock battles & combats.  Although all this are from a bygone era, the essence of the festival is ‘bravery’ and a reminder to that Sikhs that they are soldier-saints who have a duty to protect and honor the helpless and downtrodden.  

 

 

Lohri

Yesterday was ‘Lohri’, so we went to the local Gurudwara to celebrate.  It was filled to capacity and it was lovely to see all the couples with newborns, plus all the newlyweds, being honored and celebrated.  In addition to the ‘Divan’ (court/congregation of the Guru), with ‘Kirtan’ and ‘Shabads’ (holy hymns) and ‘Hukam’ (Guru’s lesson of the day) obtained from the Sacred Book, there also was the bonfire ceremony where we tossed (as well as ate) sesame seeds, peanuts, ‘rewaries’ & ‘gachak’ (peanut brittle) and popcorn into the fire.  People sang traditional ‘boliyan’ (songs) and danced (performed ‘Bhangra’).  It certainly was very joyous and I am glad that I went.

Apparently, the festival of ‘Lohri’ is always celebrated on January 13th each year (which is unique as it doesn’t follow the traditional lunar calendar).  It celebrates and honors ‘Dullah Bhatti’ who was a dacoit who stole from the rich and gave tor the poor (aka the Robin Hood of Punjab), and most importantly saved young women from the invaders or cruel abductors, who used them to fill their harems or sold them as sex slaves.  He then would get them married and for that reason the festival of Lohri always celebrates the newly weds and newborns.  For these reasons, the most popular song sung during Lohri commemorates him and the lyrics goes as following –

Sunder Munderei. Ho! 
Tera Kaun Bechara. Ho!  
Dullah Bhatti Wala. Ho!
Dullah Dhi Viyahi, Ho!  
Sher Shakar Pai. Ho!
Kuri de Mamme Aaye! Ho!
Unane Churi Kuti, Ho!

My friend also pointed out that this ritual also salutes the fire gods and when we toss the sesame seeds, we call out ‘Udham Aaye, Dalidar Jaye. Dalidar Di Jaad Chule Paye‘ (Energy come, laziness depart.  Roots of laziness gets thrown/burnt in the fire’.  This revelation was amazing as it reminded me of the fire jumping ritual that some of my Persian friends did during their festival for fire (Chaharshanbe Suri) where while jumping over the fire they said something like ‘take away my paleness (my troubles) and give me your redness’.  In that part of the world, do we have common festivals?  Regardless, Happy Lohri everyone!