Besakhi festival ends

TAXILA, April 14: For the first time in many years the festival of Besakhi ended on a high note of jubilation in Gurdwara Punja Sahib on Thursday. Over 8,000 pilgrims from different parts of Pakistan, and India, UK, and Germany attended the three-day festival. The traditional enthusiasm and jubilation, missing for the last many years, returned this year as the temple was jam packed with yellow turbans and glimmering dresses of women and children, roaming inside and outside the Gurdwara. The 312th Besakhi festival ended on Thursday by commemorating the ceremony of 'Bhog'. The celebrations start early as devotees, with flowers and offerings in their hands, reach the Gurdwara before dawn and later recite passages from the Granth Sahib. Wearing traditional jewellery, beautiful clothes and turbans, pilgrims line up to receive Prasad. They perform 'Keerthan' for purification, which is followed by 'Ardaas' (prayer). After the ceremony, Sikh and Hindu yatrees from various parts of the country, including Fata, Peshawar, Swat, Tando Adam, Larkana, Sukkur, Badin, Umar Kot, Karachi and Lahore, left for their homes. In the evening, Indian pilgrims left for Nankana Sahib for a three-day stay there. Addressing the pilgrims, Parliamentary Secretary for Minorities Affairs Rameesh Lal said the government was using all resources for the betterment of minorities and taking care of their religious places. He said President Asif Ali Zardari on this Besakhi festival had announced a grant of Rs1 million for the welfare of Sikh community. He said the government was planning to increase the number of visas for Sikh pilgrims.