Festive time: Prabhat pheris, langar, kirtans to mark Guru Nanak Jayanti

THANE: Prayers, prasad and kirtans are set to mark the celebration of the birthday of Guru Nanak, the first of the 10 gurus of the Sikh community, in Thane city on Friday. While the gurudwaras across the city gear up for Guru Nanak Jayanti, setting up brightly lit and beautifully decorated mandaps mark the celebrations for devotees at home.

“This is a very auspicious day for our community and we begin the day by reading the holy path (a forty-eight-hour non-stop reading of the

Guru Granth Sahib

, the holy book of the Sikhs) and worshipping Guru Nanak in the morning. We light up our homes just like we do during Diwali and spend the day with family, as everybody comes together to help out in the mega feast,” said Gurpreet Kaur, a resident of Naupada.

“After having a small family celebration at home, we visit the gurudwara for prayers and kirtans, followed by langar, which is the prasad given after. Some members of our community also go to the gurudwara early to help them prepare the meal and prasad for the large crowd that comes on this day,” added Antar Singh, a Manpada resident.

For some members of the community, Guru Nanak Jayanti celebrations started a week in advance as these citizens went around meeting relatives or following the guru’s teaching by indulging in acts of generosity.

“We conduct prabhat pheris, wherein they sing gurbanis and go around visiting houses where they have ardaas (prayers) about a week before Guru Nanak Jayanti. It is a holy time for us. For those who do not do the prabhat pheri in advance, the gurudwara holds a small procession where kirtans are sung,” said Kuljot Khurana, a Brahmand resident.

“Guru Nanak Dev founded Sikhism and led the community by example, specially when it came to reaching out and helping others. Starting a week before the festival, we donate clothes, books and food to various gurudwaras, and they then reach out to those in need and hand it over to them,” added Nirmal Singh, a Kopri resident.

We begin the day by reading the holy Guru Granth Sahib and worshipping Guru Nanak in the morning. We light up our homes just like we do during Diwali and spend the day with family, as everybody comes together to help out in the mega feast