Prakash Utsav

Happy Gurpurab to everybody. My earliest memory of this festival is participating in jaloos (procession) a day or two prior to the festival in Kanpur. I would happily sit in a rickshaw with sister and our cousins (Preeti, Deepti and Jugnu) and eat amazing food all through the jaloos. I recall having out of this world meethe chawal, kaale chole and other delicacies. My mother and Chachiji were teachers in a Khalsa school so the participation was almost compulsory. I don't recall missing even a single year.

The procession itself was a riot of color. Everybody used to dress up in their best and possibly the brightest clothes (yes, yes we like to show off :)). It was an occasion for everybody to showcase their skills. There used to be performance as the jaloos moved from one part of the city to another. There used to be bhangra (of course), gidda and gatka fights. And believe you me I am yet to come across any bhangra or gidda matching the energy levels I have witnessed in Kanpur.

As I get ready to visit Gurudwara, I leave you with shabads without which this festival is incomplete. Here they are: Lakh Khushiyan Patshayian Lakh Khushiyan Patshayian and Jo Mange Thakur Apne Te.