Nagar Kirtan Southall

[wjkk wjkf]

totally agree with you pahji - had to keep tellin girls to cover their heads etc. its so stupic man - ehmiii they aint sikhs man - i dont count them - specially when they go round like that - whats the indian flag go to do with the khalsa can i also ask? but other wise i really enjoyed it, cant wait tl next year

and koi nahin bout the seva, managed to take part :umm:

[Guest militant singh]

nagar kirtanz in soufall r now officially a jkeee,ders no solid spirituality left in dem

[wjkk wjkf]

yeh there is - people just focus on the negatives too much - why do that when you should be in tune with simran or the kirtan? Ignore your surroundings as much as possible (unless there's some disrespectful person doing some kind of beedbhi)

[Lakha Singh]

yeh there is - people just focus on the negatives too much - why do that when you should be in tune with simran or the kirtan? Ignore your surroundings as much as possible (unless there's some disrespectful person doing some kind of beedbhi)

Waheguru Ji Ka Khalsa Waheguri Ji Ki Fateh

easier said than done!...i was there with my family, we had pushchairs with us but we tried our best not to get in peoples way and concentrate on the kirtan, but this is made very difficult by the pushing and shoving as people try to cross the road to get more food or drinks then try and push there way back again. I had some woman hitting the back of my leg with her pushchair to try to get past me, she saw her gap and went flying past. a man who pushed passed my wife then stuck out his arm in an attempt to stop her passing!!! i dont want to generalise but it was mainly the afghans.. the whole event was very commercialised now and it seemed most people saw this as a mela not the celebration of the birth of the khalsa. it was a very frustrating experience which seems to get worse year after year. my cousin had a fantastic idea of purchasing large volumes of material and make scarves or chunnis, then getting sevadars handing them out to people who have not covered their heads....how can anyone refuse! that could be an answer to one of the problems. the way i see it is think of the positives yes, but also think of ways of countering the negatives..

[wjkk wjkf]

^great idea!

[Simple Singhani]

nagar keertan is what u make it.

[wjkk wjkf]

^isnt it just!

lol but i did find it easier to be in tune when i was at the front behing guru ji - otherwise people just chat about crap and dont bother with guruji they just there to eat and have a laugh

[Tanu Kaur]

nagar keertan is what u make it.

THANK YOU!!!!

I didn't even pay attention to anything or anyone who was behind the palki sahib....I just stood in front and japped naam, and it was the bets ever!!!!

Yeah, so people do dumb things - it's called kaljug...you think dumb people didnt exist during the times of Guru Nanak or Guru Arjan Sahib? I bet they did, and i bet Guru Sahib used to sit on his palki and smile anyway, because...

Guru Sahib can't be bothered with the sangat that's doing dumb things. He's only bothered with the sangat that's in tune with Naam, the sangat that will walk by his side for 7 hours, 12 hours, however long it takes.

Jab lag khalsa rehe niaaraa,

tab lag tej deyo mai saaraa.

Jab eh gaye bipran kee reet,

mai na karo in kee parteet.

Just fix your eyes onto Guru Sahib, and that's it. Forget everything else, and you'll see that it doesn't matter how many times you get pushed, or how many shoes step on your bae feet, or how much glass gets stuck in your foot, or if its going to rain, because GURU SAHIB is in your presence, and that's all that matters. He's all that matters.

[wjkk wjkf]

waheguru

[blatisingh]

waheguru

Thousands flock to Sikh festival

By David Doyle

Comment | Read Comments (2)

The five sword-carrying Panj Pyare.

AS THE 207 bus edged towards Southall High Street, a river of orange turbans and colourful dress, I started to feel like I was gatecrashing a stranger's party.

Though I have a couple of Sikh friends, in reality I know very little about the faith, and the sight of thousands of revellers was, at first, an overwhelming one.

But within a minute of stepping off the bus I had a mansoor dhal in one hand, a cup of tea in the other, and I didn't feel like a stranger any more.

At least 50,000 people took to the sun-filled Southall streets to celebrate the birthday of Khalsa on Sunday - 15,000 more people than was predicted.

And though the streets were filled to a sardine-like level, the crowds were calm, friendly and, above all, felt safe.

The very old mixed with the mothers guiding their babies through the crowd in pushchairs and there didn't seem to be a frowning face in sight.

advertisement

Though the crowd was mostly made up of the Sikh community there were large numbers of people from other communities who joined in to celebrate the festival in the spirit of tolerance.

Dr Parvinder Singh Garcha, general secretary of the Sri Guru Singh Sabha Gurdwara, said: "The whole day went excellently.

The Southall streets were packed with festival goers.

"Everyone was singing and smiling and there were lots of greetings and people coming together in the spirit of brotherhood.

"There were a lot of non-Sikhs there and I think they were surprised to be offered things without any charge.

"The committee and the trustees would like to thank all the fantastic volunteers who gave up their time for many weeks in advance.

"These were the marshalls, the people handing out food and those who supplied flowers and decorated the lorries.

"We are very grateful to everyone who gave their time."

The festival celebrates the baptism of the beloved ones on March 30, 1699, by Guru Gobind Singh, which established the five Ks, the principles by which Sikhs live.

The day passed without incident and police have reported they made no arrests and there were no major incidents on the day.

Superintendent Andy Rowell, in charge of policing the procession, said: "The Vaisakhi procession was a very peaceful and friendly occasion which attracted a record number of participants.

"As with all religious and cultural celebrations in Ealing Borough we worked closely with our partners and the event organisers to provide a safe environment for participants and minimise the disruption to the rest of the community."

The procession was led by the five sword-carrying Panj Pyare, the beloved ones', who had the path in front of them cleaned by around 20 sweepers.

Much of the crowd sang along with the beat of the Nagar which was played on a lorry at the very front of the crowd.

The parade was stopped at Southall Fire Station where children were given the chance to try on uniforms and see the station's fire engine.

Officers also gave out advice on home safety and arranged fire checks at people homes.

London Fire Brigade's assistant commissioner for community safety, Steve Turek, said: "It was a real pleasure to be involved with this magnificent event and to wish the local community a happy Vaisakhi on behalf of the London Fire Brigade.

"Occasions like this are also a great chance to engage with the local community."

From my point of view the friendliness and community spirit on show was delightful, perhaps because in today's society it's becoming harder to find, and I would recommend next year's celebration of every background and faith.

4:11pm Monday 2nd April 2007