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Divali at Darbar Sahib

By Roopinder Singh

It was a stunning, sublime spectacle. The memory of the Divali celebrations at the Darbar Sahib, Amritsar, sparkles whenever one dwells on the spectacular.

It was a time when troubles did not loom large over the horizon of Punjab, when people’s gaiety was unbridled and laughter unchecked. A time when guns were fired for fun, more to announce the presence of wedding barats than to be the cause of someone’s wails.

We were strategically located on the top of a roof near the Ramgarhia Bunga on the periphery of the Golden Temple, a vantage point which allowed us to get a gestaltic view of the teeming mass of humanity in the parkarma of Harmandar Sahib… In this case, the whole was definitely greater than the sum of its parts.

They had come from all over, just as their forefathers had, ever since the time when Amritsar was first illuminated to celebrate the return of Guru Hargobind, the sixth Guru, who had been held captive in Gwalior under the orders of the then Mughal Emperor, Jahangir.

Sikhs have thronged the Golden Temple every Divali ever since. It marks the day of the Guru’s return, just as it celebrates the return of Ram from banvas for the Hindus — yet another common thread in the warp and weft of the Indian cultural fabric.

What a crowd it was, that day in the seventies when we first saw the Divali celebrations at Darbar Sahib. Bright turbans and dupattas of various shades which adorned the heads of the devotees (both Sikh and non-Sikh) were a signature of what Punjabis always will be — individualistic, assertive and colourful.

That evening, Harmandar Sahib was literally bathed in a golden glow. Thousands of small lamps illuminated the gold-covered sanctum sanctorum. Even the doors were encased with golden sheets, and the overall effect was quite "otherworldly".

In the morning one had been a part of the mela which the vast another Divali of sorts, the Jalao at gathering becomes and had seen another Divali of sorts the jalwa at the Darshani Deohri — light glittering on the gold chanani (canopy) studded with diamonds, rubies and emeralds sent by the Nizam of Hyderabad to Maharaja Ranjit Singh, who gifted it to the Darbar Sahib. (This canopy was destroyed in Operation Bluestar.)

The words of Gurbani sung in Harmandar Sahib had a soothing effect on all the listeners. The fireworks started, illuminating the night by sky with a spectacular, though transient brilliance.

The ragis were singing Bhai Gurdas’ vaar: Divali di rat divaa baalian: "lamps lighted on the night of Divali like the stars, big and small, twinkling in the firmament, going out one by one, bringing to the gurmukh how transitory the world is."

As a friend who was also watching the big fireworks display on the East River in downtown Manhattan, New York, many years later said: "Nahin hai kuch Darbar Sahib di Divali varga."

He was right. On only wishes that the Divalis to come will outshine this image with happier ones.

This is an article taken from the archives. It was published in 1993.