Baisakhi or Bihu: celebrating the human spirit

Baisakhi, also called Vaisakhi, is a harvest festival celebrated on 13th of April according to the solar calendar. Baisakhi is a time of abundance signifying both material and spiritual prosperity. Farmers thank God for His benevolence for ensuring a good harvest and pray for an encore next year. It also commemorates the establishment of the order of Khalsa for Sikhs. The legend goes that Guru Gobind Singh had announced that he required five men who were prepared to sacrifice their lives for brotherhood. Five volunteers emerged and he took them one at a time into a tent. Each time he emerged with a bloody sword. Actually he had only dipped the sword in goats blood and he was testing the dedication of his followers to the cause. The five men chosen by Guru were called a Panj Pyaras. On Baisakhi Sikhs visit Gurudwaras, listen to kirtans and take kada prasad of sweet semolina. In Himachal Pradesh, Baisakhi marks the final moment to say goodbye to winter. The devout takes purifying dips in hotsprings at Tattapani near Shimla and Prashar near Mandi. It is also the time for resurgence and regeneration. Naba Varsha is celebrated in Bengal. Rich and brilliant colours are used to make rangolis at doorways. It is the new year for Tamilians, and in Kerala they celebrate the festival of Vishu. Buddhists believe that Gautam Buddha attained enlightenment on this day. In Assam, the festival is celebrated as Rangali Bihu. People in Bihar pray to the Sun God at a place called Surajpur Baragaon. One festival and so many ways to celebrate it! It is a remainder of Unity in Diversity. Article by Ruchi Sharma, The New Indian Express, dated 10th April 2006.