551st Gurunanak Jayanti: Devotees throng decked up Bangla Sahib in Delhi

On the occasion of Guru Nanak Jayanti, Sri Bangla Sahib Gurudwara in Delhi wears the festive golden glow, with the golden domes standing in sharp contrast against blue skies. Today is the 551st birth anniversary of Guru Nanak Dev, one of the most celebrated Sikh gurus and the founder of Sikhism. The day began with the conclusion of Akhand Path a 48-hour non-stop recitation of the entire Guru Granth Sahib.

Following the Covid-19 protocol, devotees gathered at Sri Bangla Sahib to offer prayers. Social distancing was maintained and people followed the instructions of wearing mask in the premises and other safety protocol dutifully.

Entering the Gurudwara, the devotees wash their feet and hands and then join the long queue for the sanctum sanctorum. After bowing to the deity, devotees sit and listen to the spiritual hymns being chanted. They also perambulated the sarovar (pond), offering prayers in the water.

Karha Prashad, wheat boiled in milk with sugar & clarified butter, was offered to the devotees as benediction, while some also drank holy water. Non-stop langar, community kitchen, was prepared and served to the devotees. Devotees, accompanied with their families and even infants, sat around in the Gurudwara soaking in the spiritual hymns and some winter sun simultaneously.

Varsha Singh

Passionate about social issues, especially children and women’s rights, rising inequity and human rights, Varsha Singh, a Post-Graduate in English (Hons) from Calcutta University and Mass Communications from St Xavier’s Calcutta, gravitated naturally to journalism in 2013. Varsha has made her passions the subject matter of her work and she has been writing regularly about these issues, besides business, tourism, culture and politics. Of late, Varsha has been pursuing another passion, multimedia journalism making videos reports on social issues and current affairs, looking at them with a different lens. Outside of her work, Varsha is equally passionate about cinema, music, travel and tea. Indeed, she is the inhouse film and music encyclopedia and a full-time chai-o-holic.