Amritsar, October 29
The Golden Temple complex has been decorated with aromatic flowers from across the country and abroad to mark the ‘Parkash Purb’ (birth anniversary) of Sri Guru Ram Das, the founder of holy city.
Akal Takht Jathedar Giani Raghbir Singh and SGPC president Harjinder Singh Dhami have extended their greetings on the occasion that falls on Monday (October 30).
Owing to the Nanakshahi calendar row leading to discrepancies in the dates of various Gurpurbs, the occasion was commemorated twice in October. The Pakistan Sikh Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee (PSGPC), which follows the ‘mool’ (original) Nanakshahi calendar, had already observed the occasion on October 9.
Nonetheless, the SGPC commemorates Gurpurbs on the basis of ‘revised’ version of the Nanakshahi calendar.
To mark the occasion, hundreds of quintals of different kinds of flowers, especially imported from Thailand and Singapore, as well as procured from the local market, were arranged to embellish the entire passage leading to the sanctum sanctorum, Darshani Deori and the walls of the Akal Takht.
The devotees from Mumbai and Kolkata have arrived specially to perform ‘sewa’ of flower decoration. Satinder Singh said flower varieties like orchids have been imported from Thailand and anthurium has been arranged in bulk from Singapore. “We have arranged those varieties which have a shelf life of over four days,” he said.
Harpreet Kaur, another devotee from Mumbai, said, “Our group has been fortunate in performing the sewa for the past several years by the grace of Almighty.”
Amit from Kolkata said that it was his first visit to the Golden Temple and he was mesmerised by the ambience of the shrine. “We expect to complete the flower decoration by late evening,” he said.
SGPC secretary Partap Singh said that the bhog of Akhand Path would be performed tomorrow at Gurdwara Sri Manji Sahib Diwan Hall, followed by Gurmat programmes.
As the tradition goes, besides the Gurmat programmes, the ‘Jalau’ (show of splendour) would also be displayed at the sanctum sanctorum, Akal Takht and Gurdwara Baba Atal Rai tomorrow. In the evening, the entire complex will be illuminated with lights and fireworks would be organised to mark the occasion.