The Way Through Soul..........

The land of five rivers Jhelum, Chenab, Ravi, Beas ans Satluj. Punjab has a rich cultural history of celebrating various festivals and fairs with grandeur and enthusiasm. Festivals in Punjab are famous for its vivacity and color. Festivals are usually held in April and May when the harvest is ripe and ready. People come out to celebrate Baisakhi with zeal and religious fervor. Gurupurab, lohri, Bhaidooj, Basant Panchmi are some of the popular festivals celebrated in Punjab.

Lohri

Lohri: Celebrated on the 13th day of January. In true spirit of the Punjabi culture, men and women perform Bhangra and Giddha, popular Punjabi folk dances, around a bonfire. Enthusiastic children go from house to house singing songs and people oblige them generously by giving them money and eatables as offering for the festival. Lohri is my favorite festival among all. It is the festival of kites also. On this festival, no one bothers about the chilly winter and go on their terraces to fly kites high in the sky. On that day you can see the sky filled with different colors of kites. I never missed this festival till my graduation. From the very morning, I used to go on my terrace with all my kites and thread to fly and catch kites. I never got tired till evening and my mom literally screamed to get down. Late in the evening, people gather around the bonfire and throw sweets (gachak and rewri), puffed rice and popcorn (as holy offering) into it and sing folk songs. Lohri is also an auspicious occasion to celebrate a newly born baby’s or a new bride’s arrival in the family. You can watch the video:

Baisakhi: Celebrated on the first day of the month of Baisakh (April/May). This is the New Year’s Day, going by the Saka calendar. Essentially, a North Indian harvest festival, it is the time for the reaping of the rabi (winter crop). For the Sikhs, the day has great religious meaning as Guru Gobind, the 10th guru of Sikhs, established Khalsa on this day at Anandpur in 1699 AD. The Sikhs were baptized to form the Elect. This baptism of the sword led to the creating of the Panj Pyare, the Beloved Five. Each Khalsa was to adopt the panch kakkas, (the five K’s), Kesh (unshorn hair), kanga (small boxwood comb in their hair), kaccha (a pair of shorts), kara (a steel bangle), and a kirpan (a short dagger), which have since become an integral part of the Sikh identity.

Gurupurabs: Gurupurabs celebrate the births and honor the martyrdom of Sikh Gurus. The Sikhs celebrate 10 Gurpurabs in a year. Three major Gurupurabs are: the birth anniversaries of Guru Nanak and Guru Gobind and the martyrdom of Guru Arjan Dev. On the full moon of Kartik, the birth anniversary of Guru Nanak is celebrated by the devotees with great ardor. Two days before the day of Gurupurab a non-stop reading of the Adi Granth starts and religious congregations are held and hymns from the Granth Sahib are chanted. At night buildings are illuminated.

Gugge di Marhi

Chhapar Fair: The fair is celebrated near the shrine 'Gugge di Marhi' of Gugga Pir on Anand Chaudus. A village fair that originated as a small gathering of locals to worship snake embodiment of Guga 150 years ago has emerged as a mega festival in the past three decades. The legend narrates a story of a boy and a snake born together in an agricultural family of Chhapar village. The serpent and the boy were so intimate that if one suffered a pain the other used to cry. One day the mother of the child went to the fields after laying him on a cot. To save him from the scorching sun, the snake stretched its hood over him. Mistaking that the snake is going to bite the child, a passerby killed it with a stick. The child also died immediately after the death of the snake that left the family in sorrow.The family was advised by the elders to perform religious ceremonies to worship Guga and Sidh and a he-goat was left free to mark the place of worship by striking at a particular place.

The fair lasts for three days with fun, music and dance. I remember me with my family along with other families used to go to see the fair on bullock carts. There are different kinds of swings, sweets and other eatables. You can watch the video in which people are enjoying the fair: