India is a land of festivals and celebrations, umpteen numbers of festivals are celebrated in the country throughout the year. One of the major festivals amongst them is Baisakhi. This festival is of immense significance amongst Hindu and Sikh community in the country. Hindus regard this day as the sacred day when Goddess Ganga descended on earth to serve mankind. It also marks the beginning of their new year. Amongst Sikhs, it is considered as the day when their 10th Guru Gobind Singhji laid the foundation of the sacred Khalsa Panth. The festival of Baisakhi is also an immense joyous occasion for farmers whose long awaited time of harvesting comes along with this festival.
Baisakhi is celebrated in different parts of India in a different manner; however one thing that remains the same is the zeal and enthusiasm of celebrations.
Vaisakhi is an important ancient harvest festival in the Punjab region and Baisakhi 2011 is a Sikh religious festival, which is celebrated on April 14 according to the solar Nanakshahi calendar. This Happy Vaisakhi/ Baisakhi 2011 is considered as the the beginning of Sikh New Year, which also marks the Hindu solar New Year in Bengal, Assam, Tamil Nadu, Kerala, and Nepal.
The auspicious Baisakhi/ Baisakhi/ Vasakhi festival is celebrated on first day of Vaisakh month (April-May) according to the Nanakshahi calendar. Baisakhi falls on April 13 every year and on April 14 once in 36 years. This variation in date is due to the fact that date of Baisakhi is reckoned according to the Indian solar calendar and not the lunar calendar.
This festival is of great importance in the Sikh religion, major activities of this festival begin from Gurdwaras. People wake up early and take bath in the holy river to mark the auspicious occasion and visit the near by Gurudwaars for the special prayer meeting organized for the day. After the Baisakhi ardas is over, people gather together to receive specially prepared Kara Prasad. This Prasad is then followed by a ‘langar’ or community lunch at the Gurudwara. After the Langar is over, people come out with the Baisakhi procession under the leadership of Panj piaras. The procession roams all over the city singing religious songs and performing Bhangra and Gidda.
Jwalamukhi Temple, Himachal Pradesh, thousands of devotees offer prayers to the Goddess on Baisakhi day. Ganga Punya bath is also performed on this day. On the same day of Baisakhi festival, Kerala New Year (Vishu), Tamil New Year (Puthandu), Bengali New Year (Pohela Baisakh), and Assamese New Year (Rongali Bihu), and Vaishakha festival in Bihar are also celebrated.
For the large farming community of the country, Baisakhi marks a New Year’s time as it is the season to harvest the rabi crop. On this occasion, the farmers of the country thank god for the plentiful crop and successful completion of their farming season. They also pray for good season ahead. They buy new clothes and feast along with their relatives and neighbors. The feast is accompanied by dancing and singing with the Nagara and Dhol music. At some places, a fair as well as wrestling bouts are organized to make the festival completely fun filled and enjoyable.
0 comments:
Post a Comment