Prayers mark Baisakhi

Men and women have joined hands to offer prayers and participate in community service, which includes preparing community lunch, serving, and cleaning plates.

This was the spirit at Gurudwara Sadh Sangat, where scores of Sikhs made their way to the shrine to celebrate Baisakhi on Tuesday.

The actual celebrations began a couple of days ago with a 48-hour recitation of ‘akhandpath’.

Baisakhi is celebrated every year by the Sikhs to mark

Khalsa (founding of the Sikh community) and hence it is also known as ‘Panth Khalsa Sajana Diwas’.

Wearing saffron-coloured robes and similar hued turban, and holding swords, Panj Pyares, the five head priests, offered special prayers to the Guru Granth Sahib, which was impressively decorated.

“Orange represents sanctity. Baisakhi is celebrated to mark purity as it was the day when our 10th and last Guru Gobind Singh founded the Khalsa Panth (order of the pure ones). Traditionally, the day also marks cutting of the first crop of the year,” said Kulwant Singh, a Granthi (priest) at the Gurudwara.

Those who gathered were seen relishing glasses of chilled rose milk, sharing work, offering prayers, and savouring ‘langar’.

The day-long devotional activities included singing of hymns and kirtans performed by a team led by Jagdeep Singh from Punjab.