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Every year on December 25, Darbar -e-Khalsa is organised by the International Institute for Gurmat Studies (IIGS) of Los Angeles to celebrate the birthday of the 10th Guru Gobind Singh. Since December 25 is a public holiday in America, therefore people are free to attend the Darbar with their families. In any case outside India Gurpurabs are celebrated on the nearest Sunday to the event. At the insistence of our friend Amarjit Dhillon, we travelled all night by bus to reach Buena Park Gurdwara of Los Angeles by the morning of December 25. From there Dhillon picked us up to take us to Cali-Poly (Institute of Polytechnic of the University of California) to take part in the mela of Darbar-e-Khalsa. We reached Cali-Poly, where the Darbar was held that year, around 11 am to take part in the celebration of the birthday of Dashmesh Pita. The parking yard was full of cars. That was an early indication of the sangat’s widespread participation in the mela. We left the car in the parking area and walked towards the auditorium where kirtan was going on. The auditorium could hold only a thousand people. Many more thousands, after paying obeisance to Guru Granth Sahib ji, were spread all around the spacious lawns. The programme had started at 6 am with the parbhat pheri. People had started pouring in early and the mela began with the rendering of Asa di Vaar by eminent raagis. It had set the mood of devotion. Since the morning kirtan was going on. Some children who have mastered the art of kirtan also regale the sangat. It encourages popular participation by the children in such functions. Another important part of the annual Darbar is giving recognition to eminent persons by presenting manpatras and siropas to them. By honouring the Sikhs worthy of social recognition, the IIGS brings them to the notice of the widespread Sikh community. Such public recognition is very necessary for encouraging more people to do more work for the community. In the last 20 years about 150 persons have been presented with siropas. Outside the main auditorium, near its main gate, there were three large stalls serving food items. Looking at the spread of various foodstuff, sandwiches, samosas, and three types of sweets and considering the times, it being 11am, we were glad to note the langar service was elaborate. There was a long queue of people who were being served at three places. There was a separate counter for tea/coffee and soft drinks. Next to it, on both sides of a small paved internal road of Cali-Poly there were stall selling various knick-knacks. There were religious books, pictures, and tapes of music, boxes. In short everything was being sold except food. Sikhs don’t sell food in a mela. They invite the sangat to enjoy the eatables and drinks free. The IIGS could not have chosen a better time to hold the Darbar than on December 25 annually, when the Southern Californian sun is at its mellowest. It was a joy to be outdoors. The blue sky and cool breeze and the shining sun created an atmosphere, which reminded the sangat of the early winter season of Punjab. It was that memory of Punjab attracted the sangat to Cali-Poly. For them, the mela was a Gurpurb as well as a picnic. People had assembled there with families. They had come to enjoy this one-day get-together. Small children frolicked around, while the grown-ups merely lazed in the sun. It was when the service at the earlier food counters stopped and fresh counters were set up at a distance that I realised that what was being served till then was only the breakfast. The Guru ka Langar had yet to start the lunch service. And that was no less elaborate. At 2 pm, a procession
was taken out. The sawari of Maharaj ji
signalling the end of kirtan and the formal program. The
surprise event for us was that the sawari of Maharaj ji
was taken back from the Darbar in a helicopter amidst chants of
Satnam Wahe Guru. |
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