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A unique month of universal significance

As National MP Kanwaljit Singh Bakshi has written in his article (appearing in this Special Report), ‘Baisakhi’ or ‘Vaisakhi’ is a festival observed by Hindus throughout India, although under different names.

“Vaisakhi is special to most Indians because it is the festival of harvest,” he said.

We would like to extend that concept to highlight the significance of April as a special month to most people around the world.

From a political and financial standpoint, April signifies the beginning of a new financial year to most governments and commercial organisations.

Global celebrations

While it is a period of harvest to people in the northern and eastern states in India, April corresponds to the Hindu month of ‘Chaitra,’ the beginning of a New Year for Tamilians in India, Sri Lanka, Malaysia, Singapore, Fiji, South Africa and other parts of the world. People of Andhra and Karnataka mark their New Year as well, while Keralites-the Malayalam speaking population-mark their New Year with ‘medam,’ the day the Sun crosses the Equator, auspicious day to launch.

Easter, which occurs in April, is the most sacred event for Christians, depicting the resurrection of Jesus Christ. It is the dawn of a new era and new hope, with the obliteration of transgressions of humankind.

For Hindus, New Year celebrations involve bathing, feasting and worshipping at home and in temples. Devotees pay special respect to Goddess Ganga, who is believed to have descended to Earth several thousand years ago.

Hundreds of thousands of people gather along the sacred Ganges River for ritual baths. Plenty goes on in the holy cities along the Ganges (such as Varanasi), in Srinagar’s Mughal Gardens, Jammu’s Nagbani Temple.

Malayalees make elaborate preparations for this day to ensure that the year ahead will be fruitful. This festival celebrates the spirit observed in all spring events-the spirit of hope and expectation that a new dawn brings with it.

Baisakhi is among the most significant festivals for Punjabis who pride themselves of belonging to a land, which energised India’s green revolution. As an event marking the harvest season, it brings with it joy and prosperity.

The highlight is the elaborate feasting in every home, especially where new family ties are being forged by marriage or newborn babies. Baisakhi is an occasion when the poor and needy are taken care of and given alms and gifts.

Bengalis celebrate Baisakhi too but more in private. On this occasion, businesspersons close their accounts and start afresh and houses wear a new coat of paint. Those who can afford present new clothes to their friends, relatives and family members.

Special for Sikhs

Sikhs bring about a different concept. If you are lucky to see men performing the Bhangra dance, you will understand a bit of it. It tells the story of the agricultural process, from tilling the soil through to harvesting.

Baisakhi also marks reunion of family members. Homes are thoroughly spruced up and useless household effects thrown out. The granary is cleaned to welcome the new harvest arrivals. It is an occasion to wear new clothes, wish relatives, gather blessings and of course sing and dance.

The Golden Temple in Amritsar, the religious home of the Sikhs, is richly decorated and glows with the luminescence of thousands of lights and showers its blessings on the millions of devotees who congregate there on this day.

Baisakhi is also unforgettable in India’s freedom movement, for it was on this day in 1919, when General Dyer ordered the Jallianwala Bagh massacre in Amritsar.

Among the innocent men, women, and children gathered there to celebrate the festival, thousands lost their lives in the senseless firing.

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