Baisakhi 1999 Events
Baisakhi 1999 Events
Later in the morning, I heard that a panj of our Khalsa women asked to meet with
Professor Manjit Singh, Jathedar of Sri Keshgarh Sahib. The women asked that a woman be
allowed to be one of the members of the Panj Pyare at the Keshgarh Sahib Amrit ceremonies.
The women meeting with the Jethedar felt the meeting was very successful. They also felt
confident that the participation of women in this capacity would happen soon. Amrit at
Keshgarh Sahib is given everyday at 8:00 a.m. Tomorrow, our camp will also have an Amrit
Ceremony in the Amrit Vela for all the people in our yatra who want to become Khalsa. 
Gurbani Kirtan at
Keshghar Sahib Walking
to Keshghar Sahib
Today we went to Kiratpur and joined the Khalsa
Fateh March/Jaloose. The distance from Kiratpur to Anandpur Sahib has been
completely resurfaced with a new four-lane roadway. The distance between the two towns is
only about 6 miles (or 11 kilometers), yet it took us almost 4 hours to cover the
distance. It was so astonishing to see the great variety of Sikhs that God has put on the
planet. There are Sikhs of all shapes, sizes, and forms. Some are wearing the bana of Guru
Nanak; others are wearing the bana of Guru Gobind Singh. And, of course there are many
people wearing everything in between.
A beautiful, wiry-fit, old Nihung who must have been in his seventies climbed aboard
and onto the top one of our six buses. All the young adults and students on our bus
immediately followed his lead and climbed on top to join him. This is the fun of a
jaloose. Exchanging frozen sherbets and sweet jalaybs is part of the fun as well. The
streets were filled with a magnificent Jaloose of exquisitely decorated trucks, the Panj
Pyare, buses, Nihungs on horseback, elephants, marching bands, foot soldiers, Bengali
lancers, and hundreds of marchers from all over the Punjab and Pakistan. The march
symbolized the culmination of the five marches, which were started from the birthplaces of
the five beloved ones who were baptized by Guru Gobind Singh in 1699, creating the Khalsa
Panth.
Even in the 105� F heat of the day, the energy and enthusiasm of the crowd was
incredible. Planes flew overhead and dropped countless pieces of colorful paper confetti
squares on the crowds - red, yellow, pink, green, blue, purple, orange, silver and gold
rained down from the skies, balloons flew overhead and the morning and evening were 
filled with loud and colorful
fireworks.
The presence of Guru Gobind Singh was powerful and it
was easy to imagine seeing him training his troops and holding court in our midst. Wahe
Guru!
Throughout the day I find out that many people are organizing and
participating in various programs. The Miri Piri Academy jetha, led by Jagat
Guru Singh Khalsa, played to a crowd of 100,000 at the main Pandal. Evidently, their
jetha was greatly received and the sangat was so inspired by their kirtan that their time
was extended. Two other jathas from our yatra went to play at Keshgarh Sahib, one jetha
from Eugene, Oregon and one jetha from Los Angeles, California.
The masses of people are arriving. The crowds in the street are getting thicker and
thicker. Several of our yatra jethas played kirtan in the evening. Here’s an excerpt
describing one musician's (Siri Ved Kaur Khalsa)
journaled experience:
Guru Dhan Singh
talking to the yatra group about the Anandpur Sahib crowds
Looking at
handwritten notes by Sikh Gurus at a Gallery in Anandpur Sahib
Listen
to a Shabad by Sant Anoop Singh singing with 6 other famous ragis.
The athletic events at the Charan Ganga Stadium Sports Festival are a lot of fun to watch. There’s wrestling, there’s kabaddi, and there’s the ever entertaining tent pegging. Tent pegging involves Nihung Sikhs on horseback who gallop at full speed, with spear in hand, attempting to spear tiny tufts of hay.
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Copyright � 1999
Gurumustuk Singh Khalsa