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.