Covid casts a shadow on Parkash Purb of Guru Nanak Dev

Tribune News Service

Amritsar, November 28

The Covid-19 pandemic cast a shadow on nagar kirtan organised to mark the 551st Parkash Purb of Guru Nanak Dev on Saturday.

Khalsa College Governing Council (KCGC), which organised the nagar kirtan, cut down the number of participants from 30,000 students (last year) to bare minimum this year.

Only teaching, non-teaching and senior students took part in the religious procession.

The nagar kirtan took off from Khalsa College and reached Golden Temple amid religious fervour. The participants formed queues while practising social-distancing, chanted hymns and passed through various parts of the city to pay obeisance at Golden Temple.

A limited display of ‘Gatka’ (Sikh martial art), religious music and a PT show was held as the procession led by decorated palanquin in which Guru Granth Sahib was placed culminated at Akal Takht for prayers. The ‘Panj Piaras’ (five beloved ones), top management functionaries, principals and staff participated in the kirtan.

RMS Chinna, secretary, KCGC, said annual celebrations of Parkash Purb were scaled down for maintaining safety protocols. He said the procession was aimed to highlight the philosophy and teachings of Guru Nanak Dev, who advocated universal brotherhood, humanity and peaceful co-existence.

The parade highlighted the protection of environment and checking pollution as no plastic was used throughout the procession. Volunteers from the NCC and NSS cleaned the roads through which the procession passed.

Celebrations begin in Sultanpur Lodhi

Akhand Path at Sultanpur Lodhi in Kapurthala district on Saturday marked the formal start of a host of events to be organised to celebrate the 551st Parkash Purb of Guru Nanak Dev.

Member of Parliament Jasbir Singh Dimpa, MLA Navtej Singh Cheema, PPCB Chairman Satvinder Singh Marwaha, Deputy Commissioner Deepti Uppal, SSP Kanwardeep Kaur along with other dignitaries attended the ardaas at the pandal set up by the Punjab Government near the historic Gurdwara Ber Sahib.

The Punjab Pollution Control Board initiated a drive to plant 551 saplings to preach the message of environment preservation. As a part of the drive, saplings were distributed among the congregation as the prasad.

The Punjab and Haryana High Court lawyer Harpreet Sandhu got two huge-sized selfie points created depicting the 551st logo. The selfie points have been installed and inaugurated at Garari Chowk (Rotary Chowk) by Khadoor Sahib MP Jasbir Singh Gill and other dignitaries. Conceptualised and designed by Harpreet, the selfie points have become major attractions among the sangat visiting Sultanpur Lodhi during the 551st Parkash Purb.

A special brochure depicting the pictorial hymns of Guru Nanak Dev and Gurdwara Ber Sahib, Sultanpur Lodhi, was also launched. The beautiful pictorial brochure promoting the ethos and preaching of Guru Nanak Dev were distributed among devotees. The unique brochure would also be presented to Chief Minister Capt Amarinder Singh.

Meanwhile, the Board of Governors of IK Gujral Punjab Technical University Jalandhar has also given the approval for the establishment of a study chair in the name of the first Sikh master. Prof Ajay Kumar Sharma, Vice-Chancellor, IKGPTU, shared information about the area and scope of study related to Guru Nanak Dev Chair.

He said the university would work on the study of life, philosophy and teachings of Guru Nanak Dev and its relevance in the contemporary times. Researchers would work on religious and cultural space with special reference to Guru Nanak Dev, historical perspectives, mission and work in subsequent periods.

The university will also focus on the role and place of Gurdwara Ber Sahib (Sultanpur Lodhi) in the larger contexts of the teachings of the guru. He shared information subjects related to Guru Nanak Dev like creation of descriptive bibliographical documentation with reference to literary and socio-cultural studies, audio-visual documentation with special reference to Guru’s life and contribution in and around the Doaba region. The study on the travels (udasis) of Guru Nanak Dev, divine music and instruments with reference to rabab, study of inter-faith dialogues of Guru Nanak Dev are also part of university board decisions.