Baisakhi From bhangra beats to DJs

Since 1567, the festival has been an intrinsic part of the Punjabi culture. Over the centuries, the style of celebrations may have changed but the spirit remains unchanged,
writes Sanjeev Singh Bariana

AS the wheat fields turn golden in Punjab, it signals a dream yield in the country’s granary. The farmers are happy, while the families get set to make the annual major purchases for the house and fields.

After the day’s work in the fields, the evenings are spent in socialising and celebrations. The Baisakhi season lasts about a fortnight before the grand finale on April 13.

Earlier, the evening get-together in villages in the state resounded with the beats of the dhol. The way of celebrations has changed now as has the nature of job on the fields as well as the community interaction. Machines and migrants have replaced a sizeable number of the local labour.

However, the rush at the sarovars for the morning bath and shobha yatras remains unaffected. In fact, the numbers seem to swell each year. A visit to the melas at Kartarpur, Anandpur Sahib and Talwandi Sabo and, of course, the Golden Temple will force many a critic to rethink about the relevance of Baisakhi for the new generation.

The festival, generally associated with Punjab, is celebrated in different forms in different parts of the country. It is celebrated as Rongali Bihu in Assam; Naba Barsha in West Bengal; Puthandu in Tamil Nadu; Vishu in Kerala; and Vaishakha in Bihar.

The style of celebrations has also changed with the times. Bhupinder Singh Sandhu, a resident of Sanaur village in the Patiala district, says, "The style of celebrations has changed as has our lifestyle. When we were young, we did not have any vehicles. There was only one bus to our village in the entire day. Bicycle was a luxury only a few could afford. There was poor connectivity that led to small fairs serving as perfect occasions to meet and unwind after a long session in the fields."

Harmeet Singh Atwal, a teacher at Cantonment Board Elementary School, Jalandhar, says, "The social fabric of society has undergone a massive transformation. When we were young everybody knew each other in the village. I belong to Khurdpur village near Adampur Air Force Station. We even knew the families in the neighbouring areas. Now most of the youngsters don’t even know their neighbours. The inter-dependence has decreased with better facilities."

Says Sukhpreet Kaur, a student of SGGS Khalsa College, Chandigarh, "I don’t have to force myself to join a sobha yatra. The urge to go back to Amritsar and join in the yatra, always, comes, naturally".

Amritpal Kaur, a resident of Sector 38 (West), Chandigarh, says, "I hold the day important as an occasion to ponder over a point in history when a new faith started and not purely as a religious connotation of the occasion."

Nirmal Jaura from Punjab Agricultural University, says, "At one time, Baisakhi melas were famous for wrestling bouts. Villagers supported their teams and heated arguments, besides small skirmishes, were quite common. A fight often took place for grabbing a particular venue for a kabaddi match or a wrestling bout."

Gurbhajan Singh, editor of Changi Kheti magazine, PAU, says, "The season was very special to the people of the Majha belt. Fights over venues, matches and favourite players were quite common. The beauty of the occasion was that a majority of these were never reported to the police. Once the head of our village elder was badly injured in a sword battle during a match. He tied his head tightly with a turban and came home. After washing his head with turmeric, he said, ‘I will smash their heads next year’."

Gurbhajan Singh says, "The ghantis around the neck of the bulls were removed during those days. Farm implements, including khunta and phauda, also became tools of the bhangra troupe ancillary.

Jagdev Singh Jassowal, president, Prof Mohan Singh Yadgari Foundation, says, "Long before paddy transplantation started in the state, wheat was the only major crop. Now the state has sufficient water for two crops and harvest festival is not that exclusive now."

Lambardar Harjit Singh from Chakk Usarke village in Kapurthala says, "I have been coming to Kartarpur Sahib since 1940. I don’t see any change in the number of people attending the festivities here. The numbers have swelled. The packaging of the sweets and types of joyrides might have changed today; however, faith stands undeterred."

Although associated mostly with the farming community, all communities celebrate Baisakhi. Giving a perfect example of everyone joining in the festival is the fair on the Gaushala road in old Ludhiana city. Since the past several decades, the fair has attracted people from all religions. The only change is that the visitors now prefer liquor to lassi and DJs to dholis.

Balbir Singh ‘Beera’ Dhillon, a farmer from Bathinda, says, "I remember the day as an occasion of mingling with friends. During the 1960s, the celebration never appeared to be restricted to any particular faith as Hindus and Muslims from the neighbouring villages too, joined in."

The style may have changed; DJs may have replaced dholis; even the place or country may change but the soul of Baisakhi has remain unchanged.

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