Harvest festival Baisakhi is being celebrated with bhangra, gidda and the beat of dhol…

Chandigarh, April 13: The festival of harvest is being celebrated with much fanfare in Punjab, Haryana and Chandigarh. Baisakhi is being celebrated in the northern part of the country today. People are taking a dip in holy serovars, canals and rivers before joining Mela celebrations. The high point of Baisakhi celebrations in villages is the performance of traditional folk dance bhangra and gidda by men and women respectively. The dance is simple in movement but is extremely energetic. It is performed in-groups on the beat of dhol.

People of North India, particularly Punjab perform prayers and thank God for good harvest. Visit to Gurudwaras, Vaisakhi processions and traditional performances are the highlights of the day.

Cries of “Jatta aayi Baisakhi” reverberate in the skies as gaily-dressed men and women move towards the fields to celebrate the occasion. Baisakhi has special significance for Sikhs as on this day in 1699, their tenth guru, Guru Gobind Singh, organised the order of the Khalsa. Guru Nanak DevJi was the first preacher of ‘existence of one God’ faith followed by nine other Sikh gurus, believed to be the messengers of God. The teachings of these gurus were compiled into a holy book called the Guru Granth Sahib Ji, the eleventh guru of Sikhism, by the tenth guru of the religion.

Farmers in other parts of the country also harvest their rabi crops on this day. The festival of Baisakhi occurs at the same time as the Hindu Vedic New Year which is celebrated in different parts of India

Baisakhi at Pinjore, a small town in Haryana, is a grand event that is celebrated with much pomp and gaiety among the locals as well as visitors from across the country.