On Sunday 28 April the Vaisakhi Parade will take place in Leicester.
The parade will start from Holy Bones (LE1 4LJ) at 12.30pm and finish at East Park Road, Evington (LE5).
At DMU our OpenFaith initiative supports students of all faiths through a variety of wellbeing and spiritual activities.
Our breathing space continues to provide all students with a peaceful and relaxing area to unwind and connect through mindfulness or worship.
OpenFaith recognises the sanctity of religious festivals and our student cohesion officer has previously supported the DMU Sikh Students society in celebrating Vaisakhi through Kirtan and Langar on campus.
Vaisakhi is one of the most important dates in the Sikh calendar. It commemorates the year of 1699 when Guru Gobind Singh – a spiritual leader, warrior, poet and philosopher – founded the order of the Khalsa.
Sikhs believe that on 14 April 1699 Guru Gobind Singh called all Sikhs to the Indian City of Anandpur Sahib, Punjab and at the gathering he asked all those in attendance to uphold their faith and preserve their religion.
Five men stepped forward and prepared to die for their religion, they are known as the Panj Pyare.
Followers of the faith commemorate the day with processions which are known as Nagar Kirtan.
A Nagar Kirtan is led by five men in a ceremonial dress to represent the Panj Pyare and performers, floats and drummers follow the Dhol behind.
Thousands of people braved the rain last year to commemorate the day.
In London there will be a huge festival taking place in Trafalgar Square on Saturday 27 April, it is free to attend and will take place from 12pm to 5pm, find out more here.
If you are interested in booking the breathing space this Vaisakhi please do get in touch via mehjabeen.rahim@dmu.ac.uk.
Posted on Thursday 11 April 2019