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| Monday May 20, 2024 |
 (Photo:Reuters/Kamal Kishore) Hola Mohalla or simply "Hola" is a Sikh festival that takes place on the first "full moon" day in the month of March which approximately corresponds to the Punjabi month of Chet which begins on March 14. Chet is the first month in the Nanakshahi calendar and this month coincides with March-April in the Western calendar. Every year this festival takes place in the month of March when we have a "full moon" in India. This Sikh festival follows the Hindu festival of Holi; The word "Mohalla" is derived from the Arabic root "hal" (alighting, descending) and is a Punjabi word that implies an organized procession in the form of an army column. But unlike Holi, when people playfully sprinkle color, dry or mixed in water, on each other, the Guru made Hola Mohalla an occasion for the Sikhs to demonstrate their martial skills in simulated battles. Together the words "Hola Mohalla" stands for "mock fight". During this festival, procession are organised in the form of army type columns accompanied by war-drums and standard-bearers and proceeding to a given spot or moving within the state from one gurdwara to another. .....More Every important Sikh ceremony is performed in the presence of the holy Guru Granth Sahib. The ceremonies which are most important to a Sikh are: Baptism or Amrit Ceremony Marriage or Anand Karaj The Death Ceremony Antim Sanskar Naming Ceremony – Naam Karan:- Sikhs name their children only after they are born, as it is customary to bring the child into the presence of the Holy Granth as soon as it is convenient and when the mother is well enough to go to the Gurdwara. The Holy Granth is opened at random and a verse (Shabad) from the pages opened is read. The first letter of the first word of the 'Shabad' (hymn) on the page is chosen as the initial letter of the child's name. Now this could be any letter of the alphabet. For example if the first letter is 'S' then any name such as Surinder, Surjit, Sukhdev, Satnam, Sarabjit, Satwant, Sukhwinder, etc could be chosen by the parents to their liking. See Sikh Names to see over a thousand Sikh names. .....More |
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Section for Young Sikhs:Darshan is a Punjabi word which means "viewing" or "meeting". I woke up earlier than usual on darshan day. The time must have been a little after midnight. Something seemed different that day. With difficulty I lifted my head and peeped out of the small window of my hut. Although I could not see anything due to the pitch darkness of the night, I sensed some activity in the trees. I closed my eyes and listened carefully. To my surprise I sensed the trees were in the same jovial mood as they were when spring was approaching. Winter had just started; it would be months before even the slightest hint of spring. I lay down my head back on the pillow and realised that I too was in a jovial mood - my heart too hinted some hope and excitement. That was quite a change from the past few years of my miserable and painful existence. .....More Important Links: Learning Gurmukhi/Punjabi | |||||
The Guru's Message...Treat women as equal:- Our Guru lays down the rules very clearly on this point - woman is no less than a man and must be treated as an equal in all aspect of life thus "From woman, man is born; within woman, man is conceived; to woman he is engaged and married. Woman becomes his friend; through woman, the future generations come. When his woman dies, he seeks another woman; to woman he is bound. So why call her bad? From her, kings are born. From woman, woman is born; without woman, there would be no one at all." (page 473) Repeat God's name with every breath:- The Guru advices us to: "Chanting His Glories, your filth shall be washed off. The all-consuming poison of ego will be gone. You shall become carefree, and you shall dwell in peace. With every breath and every morsel of food, cherish the Lord's Name. .. So gather the Lord's Name as your capital, and trade in it. In this world you shall be at peace, and in the Court of the Lord, you shall be acclaimed. See the One permeating all;" (page 289) Free-for-all is a term generally used to describe chaos. And chaos is a word one could use to describe much of Delhi. But at the Gurdwara Bangla Sahib kitchen, a Sikh temple which serves meals to around 10,000 people every single day, there's not a trace of chaos. And the food is free for all. This week, Alex and I are at the Doors of Perception conference in India, where the theme is "Food and Juice." It's an exploration of food systems worldwide, and the energy required to make them go. On the first full day of the conference, the fifty-odd attendees split into small groups to go exploring the city of Delhi through its food culture. A number of groups focused on the prolific street vendor network, several looked at Delhi's water, and my group of nine went to Gurdwara Bangla Sahib to see how they achieve the daunting task of feeding thousands of people in single a day. .....More
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