aisakhi, or Baisakhi, is a spring-time festival typically celebrated in the Punjab on the first day of the month of Vaisakh according to the Nanakshahi calendar, which coincides with April 13/ 14 in the Gregorian calendar.

Since 1699 the festival has assumed religious significance for Sikhs, after their 10^th guru — Gobind Singh — chose it as the day of Khalsa Panth, an umbrella term given to the baptised Sikhs. On the Vaisakhi day, Sikhs visit the gurdwaras for morning services, before leading street processions that are called Nagar Kirtans. At the end of the day, they have meals together.

From the cultural point of view, Vaisakhi marks the beginning of the mela (celebrations) in villages across the two Punjabs in India and Pakistan, amid the first wheat crop harvest. It is celebrated by Sikhs, Hindus and Punjabi Muslims. On the southern side of the Punjab, it is still celebrated fervently although it could be fading in the central and northern regions.

Every year, close to the festival, Lahore receives a large number of Sikh pilgrims from India. This year was no different. Nearly 3,000 yatris arrived in the city via Wagha Border. (As per the Evacuee Trust Property Board, nearly 10,000 Sikh pilgrims are expected to visit the gurdwaras in Pakistan this year.)

Major Vaisakhi festivities are reported to have taken place at Gurdwara Panja Sahib in Hasanabdal. These shall continue till the 22^nd of this month. Earlier, the Sikh yatris began celebrations at the Gurdwara Shaheed Gunj, which is located in Lahore’s Naulakha Bazaar and at the samadhi of Maharaja Ranjit Singh. Later, they headed out to Nankana Sahib and, finally, to Hasanabdal.

Talking exclusively to TNS, the head of a private Sikh yatra tourism firm, Mehmood A Malik, lamented the fact that the government of the Punjab hadn’t invested enough in Sikh tourism. “It [Sikh tourism] is a gold mine. It has the potential to change the dynamics of religious tourism in Pakistan,” he said, adding that there were nearly four million Sikhs around the world who could visit Pakistan for the annual festivals and rituals.

The Sikh yatris began celebrations at the Gurdwara Shaheed Gunj, which is located in Naulakha Bazaar, and at the Samadhi of Maharaja Ranjit Singh. Later, they headed out to Nankana Sahib and, finally, to Hasanabdal.

When asked to elaborate on the Vaisakhi celebrations, Malik said that street processions such as those that are a tradition in India weren’t held anywhere on the Pakistani side. “Perhaps, [because] that requires that the government take more elaborate security measures,” he said.

n the upside, addressing the Sikh yatris at Darbar Sahib Kartarpur, Chief Minister Maryam Nawaz announced that Vaisakhi would now be officially observed every year.

She urged on the Pakistani Punjabis to own and embrace their native language and culture as much as the Indian Punjabis do. Doing so will not only help revive the festival of Vaisakhi but also connect the Punjabis to their roots more profoundly, she said.

The Evacuee Trust Property Board, which is hosting the Sikh pilgrims, has provided them with lodgings free of cost.

The ETPB also arranged a train to take pilgrims from Lahore to Hasanabdal. In previous years, they had travelled by buses which was sometimes inconvenient.

The yatris are reported to have praised Pakistan’s commitment to preserving and maintaining their holy sites. Easing visa policies and working on their lodgings and travels can further facilitate religious tourism in the Punjab.

Usama Ali is a Lahore-based freelance writer. He has a BS Honours in English from the University of the Punjab