Unlike most Sikh festivals that celebrate guru’s birthdays or martyrdom, Baisakhi celebrates life, newness in harvest and formation of Khalsa Panth by Guru Gobind Singh. The festival is therefore celebrated amid much fervour among them. Actor Jasmin Bhasin talks about her plans and shares if there is any way you celebrate this festival differently from the others.
“Baisakhi is the Sikh New Year celebration that takes place every year on April 13 or 14 according to the calendar. It is a joyous, vibrant day. Also, it is the spring harvest festival, during which Sikhs celebrate new crops and offer prayers for everlasting happiness. Punjab, India, has the largest celebrations, including feasts, parades, prayers, and a lot of socialising. And I have also seen many Sikh groups worldwide host festivities to celebrate Baisakhi,” she says.
We all have our ways to connect with the higher power. Speaking about it and creating new memories during the festival, she adds, “It’s a new day, and everyone wears new clothes. Baisakhi is celebrated with bright colours, Typically the colours associated with it are red, yellow, and orange. These three have the most significance… like bringing up some orange rugs in the passageway, hanging some yellow curtains, or spreading some bright red cushions on the couch. We all go to the Gurdwara, which is a place of worship where the Sikh holy text is housed, and it literally means ‘gateway to the guru’.”
Sikhs frequently pray for success and prosperity for the coming year during Baisakhi, shares Jasmin. “Visiting Gurdwara gives me plenty of peace and space, it is a meditation centre for everyone. I also love to do the seva in Gurudwara and also enjoy the langar. At my home on the occasion of the celebration, we will be preparing special meals today. We are going to cook traditional Punjabi dishes including chhole bhature, makki ki roti , sarson ka saag, peele chawal, sweet lassi, jaggery halwa and kadhi pakora with rice. And for dessert, I will be making kheer, coconut ladoos and phirni,” she says.
