Baisakhi: One of the Biggest Festivals in India

Baisakhi is one of the biggest festivals in the northern parts of India, especially the Sikhs, it is a religious festival, harvest festival and New Year's Day all rolled into one. Baisakhi is celebrated in the month of April. This festival is the beginning of the Hindu solar New Year. In fact, this day is celebrated all over the country as New Year day, under different names. For the Sikh community, Baisakhi has a very special meaning. It was on this day when their tenth and last Guru, Guru Gobind Singh organized the Sikhs into Khalsa which means the 'pure ones'. By doing so, he eliminated the class differences and established that all human beings are equal.


On Baisakhi, men performs the wild bhangra dance (Punjabi men’s folk dance), while women does gidda (Punjabi women’s folk dance performed). This vigorous dance tells the story of the agricultural process, from tilling the soil through harvesting. As the dhol (drum) changes beats, the dancing sequence progresses, dramatizing plowing, sowing, weeding, reaping, and finally celebrating. Baisakhi also honors the day in 1689 when Guru Gobind Singh founded the Khalsa, the fighting Sikh brotherhood that donned the distinctive Sikh outfits.


Sikhs visit temples, such as the Golden Temple in Amritsar, where the holy Granth is read, remembering the day on which the Guru asked five volunteers to offer their lives; he then took them one at a time into a tent. He emerged each time with a bloody sword, although he had in fact sacrificed a goat. In honor the "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, a round of feasting, music-making, and dancing begins, amid the blossoming flowers and harvested grain.


In addition to Sikh, Baisakhi has special significance for the Hindus also. It is the start of the New Year, and is celebrated with requisite bathing, partying, and worshipping. It's believed that thousands of years ago, Goddess Ganga descended to earth and in her honor, many Hindus gather along the sacred Ganges River for ritual baths. The action is centered in the holy cities along the Ganges in north India, or in Srinagar's Mughal Gardens, Jammu's Nagbani Temple, or anywhere in Tamil Nadu. Hindus plant poles (wrapped in flags of god-embroidered silk) in front of their homes, and hang pots of brass, copper or silver on top.


Children wear garlands of flowers and run through the streets singing "May the new year come again and again!" In Kerala, the festival is called 'Vishu'. It includes fireworks, shopping for new clothes and interesting displays called 'Vishu Kani'. These are arrangements of flowers, grains, fruits, cloth, gold, and money are viewed early in the morning, to ensure a year of prosperity. In Assam, the festival is called Bohag Bihu, and the community organizes massive feasts, music and dancing.

May this Baisakhi
Brings you
All the happiness & success,
Good health and lots of wealth,
Lots of love & blessings from above,
Showers of peace & prosperity
And cheers of unity
Ocean of good luck &
Golden harvest to pluck,
Incessant joy & best wishes to enjoy!