Chandigarh, March 19: Hola Mohalla also called Hola, is a one-day Sikh festival which most often falls in March and takes place on the second day of the lunar month of Chett, a day after the Hindu spring festival Holi but sometimes coincides with Holi. Hola Mohalla is a big festive event for Sikhs around the world.
The first phase of the historic Hola Mohalla started with the thundering beats of nagaras at Kila Anandgarh of Anandpur Sahib on 17th of March.
The first phase of the celebrations would continue here till March 18 after which Anandpur Sahib would be the centre of main celebrations for four days (from March 19-22).
The fair held during Holi and Hola at Anandpur Sahib is traditionally a three-day event but participants attend Anandpur Sahib for a week, camping out and enjoying various displays of fighting prowess and bravery, and listening to kirtan, music, and poetry.
The event concludes on the day of Hola Mohalla with a long, military-style procession near Takht Sri Keshgarh Sahib, one of the five seats of temporal authority of the Sikhs.
The festival was founded by Guru Gobind Singh, the tenth Sikh Guru. On 7 March 1701, Guru Gobind Singh started a new tradition by overseeing a day of mock battles and poetry contests at Lohgarh Fort. The tradition has since spread from the town of Anandpur Sahib to nearby Kiratpur Sahib and the foothills of the Shivaliks, and to other Gurdwaras around the world.
Sikh tradition holds that Guru Gobind Singh also participated in the colourful festival with the use of gulal, which has survived into modern times with Nihangs "splashing gulal (red farinaceous powder) on each other and the audience".
As Holi starts with Holika Dahan on the full moon night of Phagan or Phalgan, the festival of Holi is referred to as the festival of Phalgun even though the actual day of Holi falls on the first day of the lunar month of Chett. Sri Guru Gobind Singh Ji built upon this method of celebrating Holi by adding a martial element and creating Hola Mohalla to be celebrated a day after Holi.