New Delhi: Baisakhi, a festival which is celebrated by the Hindu Sikh community with great fervor and excitement. It’s the most popular event in the regions of Punjab and Haryana, which provides an opportunity to thank god for a good and fruitful harvest. It’s not just an event of celebration but a culture to engulf the new generation with forgotten traditions.
When will Baisakhi be celebrated this year?
This year, Baisakhi will be celebrated on 14 April 2023.
What is Baisakhi?
Baisakhi also known as Vaisakhi -is a festival which is celebrated with the start of the solar year. It’s a festival which is memorized more relevantly in Northern India to thank God for a good harvest. It is often marked with some traditional art performances, processions and praying at Gurudwaras. It is a festival of ardour and delight which signifies the inception of the harvest season or the Rabi crop.
What is the significance of Baisakhi?
To understand the reverence of the festival for Sikhs, its important to note that on this day, the tenth Sikh Guru, Guru Gobind Singh Ji established Khalsa Panth, which also became a reason for Sikhs to consider this day as the beginning of a new year. The aim of the tenth Guru to mark the laying of Khalsa Panth was to form an army to defeat all the misdeeds and faults of society.
Due to this, Baisakhi is also celebrated by the name ‘Khalsa Sirjana Diwas’, which means ‘the birth of Khalsa’. On the other hand, the festival is known differently in different parts. It is called Rongoli Bihu in the eastern state of Assam. While in West Bengal, it is named as Poiloa Baisakh. In Tamil Nadu, it is termed as Puthandu and in Bihar, it’s called Vaisakha.
How is the festival of Baisakhi celebrated?
As mentioned above, the celebrations invite various dance and singing performances cherished with deep respect for the ancient traditions and culture. It also involves nagar kirtans following which people visit gurudwaras to offer prayers, where people are often served a delicious langar. All in all, it invites happiness and prosperity in one’s life.
Additionally, the massacre of Jallian Wala Bagh which caused massive bloodshed also occurred on this day in the year 1919. It was a freedom movement where thousands of people were shot draconically when they all gathered to celebrate Baisakhi.
