On April 13, Sikhs all around the world celebrated Baisakhi, and the Guru Singh Sabha Gurdwara in Pune had a huge celebration. More than 2,500 people came from all over Maharashtra to take part in this special harvest festival and the birth of the Khalsa.
The celebration started very early at 4:00 AM with singing called Amrit Vela kirtan. Then, they raised the Nishan Sahib flag when the sun came up. About 78% of the people joined in the morning ceremonies, while volunteers prepared food for everyone. There were 150 helpers who made sure everything went smoothly, including reading from the Guru Granth Sahib and giving out karah prasad to visitors.
This year, the Gurdwara also took care of the environment by setting up 25 recycling stations to reduce waste. They gave out 2,000 reusable steel plates and cups, which helped cut down plastic waste by 60% compared to last year.
The celebration included a cultural program where 12 local Sikh youth groups performed martial arts and sang spiritual songs. Many young people joined in, with 45% of the attendees being under 30 years old. The event also welcomed 300 non-Sikh visitors, showing that everyone was invited to join the fun.
The langar served around 3,500 meals throughout the day, with many cooking stations preparing tasty Punjabi dishes. The menu had different types of bread, lentils, and many vegetarian foods made from organic ingredients.
Lastly, the celebrations finished with an evening diwan where famous singers from Amritsar performed for three hours. The success of this event has inspired the committee to start a Baisakhi cultural exchange program next year, inviting five other Gurdwaras to join in the celebration.
The event marked another milestone for Pune’s local community as it demonstrated the city’s growing cultural diversity and inclusiveness.
