Besakhi celebrations

Hundreds of Sikh national have arrived to celebrate the festival ‘Besakhi,’ the day when the ‘Khalsa Panth’ was founded by Guru Gobind Singh is being celebrated by hundreds of Sikh pilgrims, who have come from many parts of the world to take part in the celebrations. The festival, which is being held in Hasanabdal with religious fervour and traditional rituals is an important event for the Sikh community and they are warmly welcomed by the people of the town, who show their hospitality by showering love and affection on the visitors. The town is decorated with festive bunting and banners and the road to the shrine is lit up at night.

According to tenets of the religion, Besakhi can only be celebrated in the city of Hassanabdal, (just beyond Taxila) where the Gurdwara Punja Sahib In 1921, it was decided by the elders of the Sikh religion to celebrate ‘Besakhi’ on the first day of Sanskrit month of Besakh, in memory of the day of the first Besakh in the year 1699, when the 10th Guru of the Sikh religion awarded the ‘Punj Kaaf’ symbol to Guru Goband in the city of Anandpur Sahib (India). ‘Gurdwara,’ means ‘a door to Guru’ and refers to Baba Guru Nanak, the founder of Sikh religion.

The shrine is very well looked after and is always given a bright, new look for the festival. Pakistan Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee and Evacuee Trust Property Board make special arrangements for the boarding and lodging of the pilgrims, known as ‘yatrees’ in local parlance.