AMRITSAR SAHIB, Punjab—The 548th birth anniversary of the first Sikh master Sri Guru Nanak Dev Ji was celebrated with fervency at the Sikh spiritual centre Sri Harmandar Sahib, in Amritsar Sahib, on November 15.
Exhibition of Sikh artefacts were organized for display at Sri Harmandar Sahib, Sri Akal Takht Sahib and Gurdwara Baba Atal Rai Ji. Four golden gates, the peacock of Neelam, a rosary of 108 antique gems and a royal umbrella embedded with gems was exhibited at Sri Harmandar Sahib.
A Kirtan competition of School children was held at Gurdwara Sri Manji Sahib following the regular morning religious discourse. A special Gurmat Samagam was also held in the evening, running into late night hours.
Thousands of devotees expressed their devotion by lighting candles around the periphery of the sacred pool of Sri Harmandar Sahib. Sikh devotees enjoyed a ten minute fireworks display by the SGPC, following the recitation of Rehraas Sahib.
It is noteworthy here that to put control over rising air pollution around Sri Harmandar Sahib complex, the time of firework was reduced to 10 minutes from 30 minutes. It is presumed that the demonetization of 500 and 1000 notes by Indian government, the number of attending Sikh devotees was significantly lower, it was noticed this year.
