Fair and Festivals of Punjab

Fairs or Melas in Punjabi are synonymous with the joy and gaiety; and in the countryside where the life follows a hard routine, nothing is more welcome to the people than the prospect of a festival or a mela. A rural mela in Punjab has a great significance. It is not just an occasion for festivity and mass gathering but it is an unbounded expression of the spirit of the inner freedom, of creative pride, of zest for life, and of colorful traditions of the people of Punjab.

People come to participate in fairs from far-off places, trudging dusty distances. Most of the fairs are held in memory of a saint or a pir, and people from all communities living in a village participate in it. Men women and children of all ages, classes and creeds flock in hundreds and enjoy the numerous fascinating features of the fair; races, wrestling bouts, singing, acrobatics, etc. They play on folk instruments, such as vanjli and algoza.

A fair is enchantingly picturesque. A bustling market springs up in which articles of food and products of local handicrafts-toys, glass bangles, and an assortment of all kinds of articles for domestic use are on display. There is fun and frolic all round. The gay ones in small groups sing boli’s and perform folk-dances to the strain of the vanjli and algoza. The sturdy ones test their strength in wrestling fields. It is a feast of color and gaiety and fully reflects the joy of the community. The fairs of the Punjab are linked with its culture and reflect by and large the various phases of its life.

For the Sikhs, Baisakhi has a special significance because on this day in 1699, their tenth guru, Guru Gobind Singh organized the Order of the Khalsa. On this day he administered amrit (nectar) to his first batch of five disciples making them Singhs, a martial community. Fairs are organized at various places in Punjab, where besides other recreational activities, wrestling bouts are also held. The occasion is celebrated with great gusto at Talwandi Sabo, where Guru Gobind Singh stayed for nine months and completed the recompilation of the Guru Granth Sahib.

Baisakhi celebrations in Haryana are also vibrant and joyous. Baisakhi marks the end of religious austerity of nine holy days of fasting. As in Punjab, here, too, people bathe in some nearby river, canal, tank or well and thereafter go to temples or gurudwaras for offering prayers, followed by song, dance and merry-making.