The Baisakhi Fair

"He who feasts every day, feasts not dear,

Baisakhi comes but once a year." 

India is a land of different cultures and religions. So there are many festivals related to them. The festivals fill our life with joy, thrill, and inspiration. They make our life lively. Also, the rich cultural heritage is revealed through the festivals. Thus they become part and parcel of our life.

Baisakhi is also such a festival. Though it is a festival of Punjab yet the whole of North India celebrates it.

The Baisakhi festival usually falls on 13th April every year. It is in fact, the first day of Baisakh month of the Samvat calendar. It is the day of Sankranti on that day. The sun changes its position on this day. In fact, the farmers in Punjab celebrate it by harvesting Rabi crops especially, wheat. The people put on new clothes and spend the time enjoying and merry-making. There is a lot of gaiety, fun, and hustle and bustle everywhere.

Baisakhi festival is a major function of the Sikhs in India. It is on this day that the 10th Guru of the Sikhs, Guru Gobind Singh formed the Khalsa Panth. Five disciples (Panj Piyaras) were baptized on this day. It is the birth of Khalsa on this day. The Panj Piyaras who formed the Panth or the Khalsa belonged to different castes and different parts of our country. So it is an integration of different castes into one. It is on this day that the massacre of Jallianwala Bagh at Amritsar in 1919 took place. More than two thousand people sacrificed their lives for the sake of the freedom of their motherland.

It is considered to be a very auspicious day. Nature is also at its best. The spring season sets in. Trees and plants wear a new look. It adds grace to the festival. Some people have great ceremonies on this day. This day has a special significance in the history of India. On this day, people consider it pious to take bath in the holy water of the Golden Temple and in the Ganga and the Jamuna. Guru Gobind Singh tried to unite all the people and all parts of the country. His teachings and works need to be followed by us all. The importance of Baisakhi for we Indians becomes more significant these days when truth and just are the most needed.