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Baisakhi
/ Vaisakhi
Baisakhi (or Vaisakhi)
means different things to two religious groups in India.
Either it marks the new solar year for the Hindus, or
the day back in the 17th century when the tenth Sikh
Guru, Guru Gobind Singh, founded the Khalsa (the Sikh
brotherhood).
Vaisakhi is also
celebrated as a seasonal festival in the Punjab, hence
celebrated by all Punjabis, whether Hindu, Muslim or
Sikh (most probably more often pre-partition 1947).
Being closely connected with harvesting, the festival
used to be traditionally celebrated as the harbinger
of happiness and plenty. Some anthropologists are of
the view that to ward off malignant spirits ruinous
to the harvest, a ritual dance used to precede the Vaisakhi
festivities in olden times. And Bhangra, the world-famous
Punjabi dance-form, is said to have evolved from this
ritual dancing.
For Hindus, celebrations
for the new year involve bathing, feasting and worshipping
at home and in temples. Devotees pay special respect
to the goddess Ganga, who descended to Earth thousands
of years ago. Thousands gather along the sacred Ganges
River for ritual baths. Plenty goes on in the holy cities
along the Ganges (such as Benaras), in Srinagar's Mughal
Gardens, Jammu's Nagbani Temple, or indeed anywhere
in Tamil Nadu.
You'll also see
flags of gold-embroidered silk in front of Hindu homes,
with pots of brass, copper or silver dangling from poles.
In Kerala the festival is called Vishu, and includes
plenty of pyrotechnics, and displays called Vishu Kani
- arrangements of flowers, grains, fruits, cloth, gold,
and money (which help to ensure a year of prosperity).
Assam's version is called Bohag Bihu, and the community
organizes massive feasts, music and dancing.
Sikhs celebrate
a whole different event on this day. The men perform
the (now funky) bhangra dance! It tells the story of
the agricultural process, from tilling the soil through
to harvesting. 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,
where the holy Granth is read, marking the time when
the Guru asked five volunteers to offer their lives.
He then took them one at a time into a tent, and emerged
each time with a bloody sword, although he had in fact
sacrificed a goat. In honour of these loyal "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, the partying begins!
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