AirIndia has started a new flight yesterday between New Delhi and Nanded in view of the ongoing tercentenary celebrations of 'Gurta Gaddi' for the ease of Sikh pilgrims. It is started on temporary basis and fly between Oct 29th and Nov 6th.
PM Manmohan Singh went to Nanded on Tercenteanary Celebrations
Prime Minister Dr. Manmohan Singh today offered prayers at Sachkhand Gurdwara in Nanded where lakhs of Sikhs are attending the main function of Guru-ta-Gaddi tercentenary celebrations.Amid chants of “Jo Bole So Nihal, Sat Sri Akal”, Dr. Singh offered a golden-coloured sword, saffron jacket and a chadar at the gurudwara where the tenth Sikh Guru, Guru Gobind Singh, had given the Granth Sahib to Nanded.Dr. Singh was accompanied by Union Home Minister Shivraj Patil, Tourism and Culture Minister Ambika Soni and Urban Development Minister S Jaipal Reddy. Maharashtra Chief Minister Vilasrao Deshmukh and his Punjab counterpart Prakash Singh Badal were also present on the occasion.The occasion is being marked to celebrate 300 years of declaration of Guru Granth Sahib, the holy book of Sikhs, as the perpetual Guru in 1708 by Guru Gobind Singh, the 10th master of Sikhs.A large number of Sikhs from America and Europe are also participating in the congregation.“All the batches of Sikh Dharma International consisting of 60 people have come to celebrate the 300th anniversary of Guru Granth Sahib. All these Americans have come with lot of devotion. This is a big miracle that so many Americans have adopted our faith,” said Bhai Satpal Singh, chairman of Guru Ram Das Sikh Mission of America.“Like so many of us in the West are inspired to become Sikh to the teachings of Harbhajan Singh Khalsa Yogi-ji. He did a beautiful job of showing the message of the Sikh gurus,” said Ek Onkar Singh Khalsa, a Sikh converts from Mexico.It was in Nanded three hundred years ago, that Guru Gobind Singh designated the Adi Granth as Guru Granth Sahib, the perpetual Guru, ending the chain of human gurus.It is here that the Sachkhand Hazur Sahib Gurdwara, one of the five temporal thrones or seats of authority (Takhats), is located.This is also where Guru Gobind Singh meditated on the banks of the Godavari in his final days
The World Comes To The Guru
Nanded hosts a million Sikhs; Devotion takes over all emotions
The Ganga flowed calmly near Patna where Guru Gobind Singh Ji had taken birth. This week many are finding their way to where the great wave found confluence with the swirling waters of Godavari.
And hundreds of thousands on Monday lined along the banks of the river, ferrying gallons of water, adding it to the sacred waters of the ancient 'bauli' inside the Takht Abchal Nagar Huzur Sahib Complex complex. In such a way is the Takht Sahib being readied for the greatest of the occasions, the tercentenary of the Guruship of Guru Granth Sahib Ji.
'Takht Ishnaan', an annual feature performed once a year on the Diwali eve, attracts impressive crowds, but on Monday, the number of pilgrims crossed all old records. They did not leave an inch of space along the 1.5 km walk from the banks of Godavari near the historic Gurdwara Nagina Ghat to the main gurdwara complex of Sachkhand sahib. Conservative estimates put the number of devout this morning at around 60,000 plus, including thousands coming from abroad to especially take part in this ceremony.
Shastars of the Guru were also bathed in the water brought so lovingly by the devout.
Jo Bole So Nihal shouts reverberated through the atmosphere, jathas of sangat kept rolling in every minute, and no one dare call the town sleepy anymore. Langars are on round the clock, and a strange convivialness is in the air. No Sikh is passing by the other without hailing out the Gur Fateh and the world is watching with wide eyes the spirit that the Guru imbued the followers with three centuries ago. One does wish that there were more stalls with books, that some one taken upon the sewa of distributing some literature and the SGPC had really showed itself to be the central body of the Sikhs instead of remaining at the periphery of most celebrations. But what was admirable was the absence of unnecessary and avoidable controversy over supremacy of the Granth.
The inviting gold-gilded domes were being given a bath and karsewa volunteers precariously hung from the ropes in their efforts to carry out the task with diligence and total reverence and respect. The silver doors of the structure were brought down and cleaned with milk while the golden doors of the sanctum sanctorum were washed from the outside. The area behind the golden doors was accessible only to the Jathedar of the Takht Hazoor sahib, Giani Kulwant Singh, who dressed in bright saffron and yellow robes, scrubbed the place clean.
Outside, there was a unique opportunity for the devouts to have a close look at the 3,000 odd 'shastar' (weapons), including the bows and arrows and wooden, hand crafted guns, belonging to Guru Gobind Singh, and which were brought out on Monday morning before the cleaning ceremony of the Takht. All the while, a huge 'nagara' (Drum) beat inside the gurdwara, in tune with the enthusiasm of those taking part in the seva.
One’s heart goes out to the shradhha displayed by the devout. Old men and women were carefully carrying along the water trickling down the doors, walls and windows after washing and safely carried it away. And there were those who were rushing to seal the bottles because they planned to send it abroad to their relatives, a wish that underlines the immigrant’s pain that he carries despite all success in foreign lands.
The tradition of Takhat Snan and deepmala was started about 200 years back by the locals. They carried water from the Godavari in pitchers to bathe the holy place and the arms.
Baba Hardayal Singh, known as Ghaghariya Singh, starts the process by drawing the first pitcher from the river. Another tradition of performing the Aarti besides the Ardas on the river banks after the first pitcher is drawn was instituted four years back by Clean Godavari activists led by Ravinder Singh Modi, a local journalist.
Tuesday night saw the gurdwara precincts all decorated with lights as the rest of the India celebrated Diwali. It was here that the Guru gave the source of permanent light to the community, and every single diya being lit up was a gesture of thanks to the Master.
India’s PM Manmohan Singh will be paying obeisance at the bhog on October 30.
As a city, Nanded residents can hardly recognize it any more. Overflowing with devouts, it has seen so much development that the residents are grateful to the Sikh community.
It was an interesting sight to see the milk was sprayed from a fire-tender on the gurdwara as part of the activity.
A large number of saints who have come from the US, the UK, Germany, Canada and various parts of the country also converged on the banks of the Godavri. The Maharashtra government and the management of Takht Hazur Sahib had made special security arrangements and divers of the Army were also deployed.
Watch a special programme on Sri Guru Granth Sahib
Saturday, October 18, 2008
IBN7 presents a special talk show on the occassion of tercentenary of Guru gaddi diwas of Sri Guru Granth Sahib.
Sri Guru Granth Sahib: Kal Aaj aur Kal
7:30 PM IST on October 18th and repeat telecast on Sunday also.
Watch IBN7 live free on http://livetelevision.co.cc
[Click to Enlarge]Kingfisher announces Mumbai Nanded flight
Kingfisher Airlines will start operating its first flight to Shri Guru Gobind Singhji Airport, Nanded and Latur from Monday, October 6, 2008. The flight (Kingfisher IT 2415) will take off from Mumbai thrice a week and extend to Latur. Fare per passenger will be around Rs. 3880 for both destinations.
The flight will start from Mumbai at 6 am and arrive in Nanded at 7:20 am. It will take off for Latur after 30 minutes and touch down in half an hour. The flight will proceed for Mumbai at 8:45 am and land at 10:10 am. The flights will operate Monday, Wednesday and Friday.
Tickets can be booked online here
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