Baisakhi - A Special Festival for North Indian Farmers

The name is derived from the Vikrami month Vaisakh. The Baisakhi festival falls on or about 13th April every year and on 14th April after every 36 years. In the Panjab it marks the ripening of the rabi harvest, the happy time for the peasant as he gathers the fruit of his labor. In some parts of the State, it is considered a good omen to apply sickle to the crop for the first time on this day. The farmers go to fairs and perform the Bhangra dance. The drummers and the dancers challenge each other to continue the dance, and the scenes of sowing, winnowing, harvesting and gathering of crops are expressed by zestful movements of the body, to the accompaniment of ballads. The Baisakhi has a special significance for the Sikhs. It was on Baisakhi day in AD 1699 that the tenth Guru, Guru Gobind Singh, founded the order of the Khalsa. The Sikhs were converted into a martial community by instituting the custom of Pahul (baptism). od The Arya Samaj celebrates the Baisakhi day, as it was on this day in 1875 that Swami Daya Nand set up the first Arya Samaj in Bombay.

On this day Hindus and Sikhs visit temples or Gurdwaras to pay their obeisance. Fairs are held in various parts of the Panjab. Baisakhi fair at Damdama Sahib in Bhatinda - a fair at Damdama Sahib is being held annually for three days for the last 300 years. After the fierce battles of Anandpur, Chamkur, and Muktsar against the Mughals, Guru Gobind Singh retired to the jungles of Malwa. Talwandi Sabi where he took rest (dam) is known as Damdama Sahib. The Guru stayed there for nine months in 1705. It is the headquarters of the Nihangs, a warrior sect among the Sikhs, founded by Akali Phula Singh. There are ten Gurdwaras and three tanks at Damdama Sahib.

Baisakhi fair celebrated at Pindori Mahantan (Gurdaspur) is very famous. It is an old Dera (monastery) of Mahants. The fair continues for three days and is attended by a large number of people, and has an interesting program of folk song, dance, and competitions. Bhangra parties provide maximum entertainment and draw big crowds. They perform in the compound near the temple after paying obeisance to the Mahant and getting his blessings. The leading singer recites loudly a small couplet at the end of which the players start dancing. At every party, there is a clown who dances in competition with a lady (man in female clothes). The dancers jerk and twist their arms and bodies with remarkable agility.

Some people claim that the sacred river Ganges came from heaven to earth on Baisakhi day, and on this day people go to have a bath in the holy river. It is believed that whosoever takes bath with full devotion in the Ganges attains salvation.