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Hola Mahalla at Anandpur Sahib

Hola Mohalla or Hola Mahalla or simply Hola is a Sikh festival that takes place on the first of the lunar month of Chet which usually falls in March. This, by a tradition estabished by Guru Gobind Singh, follows the Hindu festival of Holi by one day; Hola is the masculine form of the feminine sounding Holi. The word "Mohalla" is a Punjabi word that implies an organized procession in the form of an army column. But unlike Holi, when people playfully sprinkle color, dry or mixed in water, on each other, the Guru made Hola Mohalla an occasion for the Sikhs to demonstrate their martial skills in simulated battles.

Together the words "Hola Mohalla" stands for "mock fight". During this festival, processions are organised in the form of army type columns accompanied by war-drums and standard-bearers and proceeding to a given spot or moving in state from one gurdwara to another. The custom originated in the time of Guru Gobind Singh who held the first such mock fight event at Anandpur in February 1701.

The foothills of the Shivaliks in Ropar district of Punjab's north-eastern region, especially around the historic townships of Anandpur Sahib and Kiratpur Sahib, have, since 1701 been playing host to Hola Mohalla. Recently, the Indian government accorded it the status of a national festival. The military exercise, which was personally supervised by the guru, was carried out on the bed of the River Charan Ganga with the famous Hindu temple of Mata Naina Devi in the Shivaliks as the backdrop.

This annual festival held at Anandpur Sahib in Punjab and now replicated at other Gurdwaras worldwide was started by the tenth Sikh Guru, as a gathering of Sikhs for military exercises and mock battles on the day following the festival of Holi at Anandpur Sahib. It reminds the people of valour and defence preparedness, concepts dear to the Tenth Guru who was at that time battling the Mughal empire and the hill kings. On this three-day grand festival, mock battles, exhibitions, display of weapons, etc., are held followed by kirtan, music and poetry competitions. The participants perform daring feats, such as Gatka (mock encounters with real weapons), tent pegging, bareback horse-riding, standing erect on two speeding horses and various other feats of bravery.

There are also a number of Darbars where the Sri Guru Granth Sahib is present and kirtan and religious lectures take place. On the last day a long procession, led by Panj Pyaras, starts from Takhat Keshgarh Sahib, one of the five Sikh religious seats, and passes through various important Gurdwaras like Qila Anandgarh, Lohgarh Sahib, Mata Jitoji and terminates at the Takhat (Keshgarh).

For people visiting Anandpur Sahib, langars (voluntary community kitchens) are organized by the local people as a part of sewa (community service). Raw materials like wheat flour, rice, vegetables, milk and sugar are provided by the villagers living nearby. Women volunteer to cook and others take part in cleaning utensils and other manual tasks that need to be carried out. Traditional cuisine is served to the pilgrims who eat while sitting in rows on the ground. (Pangat)

The popularity of this festival may be judged from the fact that out of five Sikh public holidays requested by the Khalsa Diwan, Lahore in 1889, the Government approved only two - Holla Mahalla and the birth anniversary of Guru Nanak. Hola Mahalla is presently the biggest festival at Anandpur.

Aman Umeed Tourist Complex at Wagah Border Inaugurated

The Minister of Tourism and Culture has inaugurated a tourist resort, Aman Umeed Bhawan, earlier popularly known as Neem Chameli at Attari - Wagha border in Amritsar in the presence of the Chief Minister of Punjab. The complex has the built up area of about 10,000 sq. ft. and is spread over 1.75 acres of land, with the facilities of restaurants, bar, shops, rooms and toilet facilities for the domestic as well as foreign tourists, and in particular from Pakistan. It also has facilities like reception, lobby, bar and restaurant. The Minister after inaugurating the complex said the flow of tourists from across the border will help in further promoting peace between the two countries. She said, punjab tourism has vast potential for employment generation and Institute of Hotel Management set up in the area will provide opportunities for youth to work in the sector. She said Punjab has potential to develop MICE tourism in a big way and the Centre will provide all help to establish a Convention Centre in the State.

Amritsar has also been provided the financial support from the Ministry of Tourism for other projects like the integrated development of Amritsar which consists of the components of environmental upgradation of Ghanta Ghar Chowk, Tourist facilities at Rambagh, Punjab Freedom Struggle Interpretation Centre at Govindgarh etc.

The city has also been sanctioned a mega project which comprises the major components on composite cultural heritage walk, darshan five sarovar path, conservation and revitalization of Town Hall, rural art, craft and architectural interpretation center, conservation of samadhis, visitor facilitation centre at the bus terminus, Lahori Gate site development, landscaping and horticulture etc. Amritsar has thus been identified as one of the mega destinations/circuits out of the twenty two identified by the Ministry of Tourism in the country for integrated development.

Nanded, Hazur Sahib Airport to be operational from Oct 4, 2008

Sikh religious town of Nanded will come on the country’s civil aviation map from Oct 4, 2008 with an inaugural flight from Mumbai, an official said here Friday. The flight to Nanded, around 625 km from Mumbai, will immensely benefit thousands of Sikhs from India and around the world who are planning to visit there this month on the occasion of the 300th anniversary celebrations of Gurta Gaddi Guru Granth Sahib of Khalsa Sikh Panth.

Keeping in view the sentiments of the predominantly Sikh population of Nanded, the airport has been named “Shri Guru Gobind Singhji Airport”.

The town also has a monument “Shri Huzur Abchalanager Sachkhand Gurudwara”, dedicated to the 10th Sikh Guru, which is visited by millions of devotees throughout the year, the official said.

Nanded, with a population of 500,000, had a small airstrip constructed 50 years ago and was upgraded in 1974 to handle Vayudoot and other small and private aircraft flights. However, all commercial operations ceased from the airport in 1990.

Now, the airport has been upgraded at a cost of Rs.940 million and the facilities available include a huge terminal building to handle 300 passengers and a runway to handle big aircraft like Boeing 737s and Airbus 319-320.

It also now has three parking bays for large aircraft, six check-in counters, and all other passenger and flight operations facilities, including night operations.

Kingfisher Airlines will operate a regular service on the new Mumbai-Nanded-Latur sector, departing here at 6 a.m., halting at Nanded and reaching Latur at 8.20 a.m. The flight will depart from Latur at 8.45 a.m. and after a halt at Nanded, arrive in Mumbai at 10.10 a.m. The flights will operate Monday, Wednesday and Friday.

Punjab heritage edifices being restored to boost tourism

The land of five rivers Punjab is also known for its grand history existing in its centuries-old forts, fortresses and Serais or, traditional lodgings created by the erstwhile rulers of Punjab. It's been always felt that these historical buildings hold a huge tourist potential, provided they are properly maintained. The Punjab Government, in collaboration with the United Nations' World Tourism Organization (UNWTO), has taken up the task of restoring heritage buildings for the promotion of tourism in the State. The restoration is being done by the UNWTO giving utmost attention to keep the original beauty of the heritage buildings intact.

For this mega restoration project, UNWTO has prepared a Master Plan and the Punjab and Central government are providing the resources including skilled artisans. The 'Shahi Samadhian' or the royal cremation ground is one of the many historical places in Punjab that are presently undergoing a makeover. Restoration work is also being done at the memorial or Samadhi of Baba Alla Singh, the founder of Patiala city.

The Punjab government wants to promote Amritsar, Kapurthala and Patiala as tourist destinations. The State government had earlier tied up with the UN World Tourism Organization to jointly promote Punjab as a global destination for religio-heritage tourism.

"The Golden temple is not the only Sikh heritage site in Punjab. There are lots of other places, which are overlooked. Lots of pilgrims go to Anandpur Sahib, which is wonderful. But just down the road is Kiratpur, which is very important from the point of view of Sikh heritage. It's a lovely little town having lots of lovely Gurudwaras, heritage gardens and so on. These places are missed since they are not publicized well enough. We want to emphasise those," an official observed.
If the princely state of Patiala boasts of the Sheesh Mehal and Bahadurgarh Fort, Kapurthala city is proud of its Jalaukhand fort. Besides majestic forts and palaces, there are historical Sikh shrines and edifices that attract tourists.

The Punjab government has listed 65 heritage sites to refurbish, out of which 12 are to be restored by the end of this year.

Amritsar Gets Tourism Police

Amritsar seeks to safeguard the interests of tourists who fall victim to crooks and cons. AMRITSAR – One of the most popular tourist cities in Punjab his hoping a 30-person special police squad will help protect its 100,000 daily visitors. Tourists have often fallen victims to cheats and touts and ended up losing their belongings and valuables, said Punjab Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal as he announced the formation of the Amritsar Tourism Police by the city’s district police department.

The tourism police will be stationed around-the-clock at Darbar Sahib, the airport, the railway station, bus stands and the Attari border.

"Special training has been imparted to these officers in tourism management,” said Kunwar Vijay Pratap Singh, Amritsar’s senior superintendent of police, who will personally supervise the 30-member squad led by Inspector Ramnish Kumar.

“The main objective of the Amritsar Tourism Police will be to prevent harassment of tourists by touts, help in getting transport and lodging at appropriate rates and help avoid hassles at the railway station, airport, bus terminals and other important tourist locations."

At a joint news conference Thursday, the Punjab chief minister lauded the effort of the local police in protecting the city’s burgeoning tourist population.

"Amritsar is emerging as a sikh tourism hub, one of the most visited places in the world with about one lakh (100,000) visitors who come here every day,” Parkash Singh said. “They include a large number of devotees from other sates in India as well as from the foreign countries.”

It is not known whether tourists in need will be able to recognize a tourism-police officer from a regular officer.

Polution Threat to Harimandir Sahib

The Shiromani Gurdwara Prabandhak Committee (SGPC) should take immediate steps to control pollution around Golden Temple. SGPC should frame a policy within the next three or four months for initiating steps for controlling pollution caused by the use of fire crackers in the temple complex. Authorities concerned should also take preventive measure to control pollution created by the small scale industries situated around the temple.

Sri Harimandir Sahib, also known as Sri Darbar Sahib or Golden Temple is named after Hari(God) the temple of God. The Sikhs all over the world, daily wish to pay visit to Amritsar and to pay obeisance at Sri Harimandir Sahib in their Ardas.

It is pertinent to mention here that the Punjab Pollution Control Board, which had been monitoring the environment around the Golden Temple, found high levels of harmful nitrous oxide and sulphur dioxide in the ambient air. The experts had also cautioned that fireworks release these gases which could react with marble leading to its corrosion and blackening. The miniature paintings and gold plating are also under threat from the harmful gases, the experts added. The recent study was an eye opener that fireworks at the shrine complex could cause such a damaging effect on the Harmandir Sahib.

It was difficult to change the 400-year old tradition but the SGPC authorities should discuss the issue so that the shrine could be saved from being damaged.