In Part 1: Understanding Sikhism, we look at Hola Mohalla

The words are derived from: Hola i.e: the masculine form of the feminine sounding Holi. The word "Mohalla" derived from the Arabic root hal (alighting, descending) .It is Punjabi word that implies an organized procession in the form of an army column. But unlike Holi, when people playfully sprinkle color, dry or mixed in water, on each other, the Guru made Hola Mohalla an occasion for the Sikhs to demonstrate their martial skills in simulated battles.Together the words "Hola Mohalla" stands for "mock fight". During this festivals, procession are organised in the form of army type columns accompanied by drums and standard-bearers and proceeding to a given spot or moving in state from one gurdwara to another. The custom originated in the time of Guru Gobind Singh who held first such mock fight event at Anandpur in February 1701.The foothills of the Shivaliks in Ropar district of Punjab's north-eastern region, especially around the historic townships of Anandpur Sahib and Kiratpur Sahib, have, since 1701 been playing host to Hola Mohalla.

Recently, the Indian government accorded it the status of a national festival. The military exercise, which was personally supervised by the guru, was carried out on the bed of the River Charan Ganga .It reminds the people of valour and defence preparedness, concepts.

There are also a number of Darbars where Sri Guru Granth Sahib is present and kirtan and religious lectures take place. On the last day a long procession, led by Panj Pyaras, it starts from Takhat Keshgarh Sahib, one of the five Sikh religious seats, and passes through various Gurdwaras.

For people visiting Anandpur Sahib, Langars (voluntary community kitchens) are organized by the local people as a part of sewa (community service). Raw materials like wheat flour, rice, vegetables, milk and sugar are provided by the villagers living nearby. Women volunteer to cook and others take part in cleaning utensils and other manual tasks that need to be carried out.

In Part 3. Shabad Translation

We feature extracts from the CD: Through these eyes

In part 5, Outside Broadcast, we are honoured and grateful Gurumustuk Singh for his time to talk about the wonderful sites: http://www.sikhnet.com , http://www.sikhiwiki.org and http://www.mrsikhnet.com

Thanks again to our special guest Gurumustuk Singh. In addition, Thanks to all those who continue to support us.

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