Thousands of people lined the streets of Southampton to celebrate one of the most important dates in the Sikh calendar.
A large ‘Nagar Kirtan’ procession made its way through Southampton today as Vaisakhi was celebrated.
The spring festival was marked by special speeches, religious songs, free vegetarian food, and much more.
Heavily involved in the festivities was Pritheepal Singh, correspondent secretary at the Council of Southampton Gurdwaras.
He said: “It takes months and months to prepare this event and it’s very exciting because we are celebrating the birth of Sikhism in 1699.
“We have been celebrating Vaisakhi in Southampton for 34 years. But due to Covid, we were unable to do it for the past three years.
“It’s a colourful, vibrant, and multicultural event people from all different walks of life can attend.
“Thousands of people here today are going to enjoy it.”
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The celebrations began at Southampton Civic Centre with all generations, faiths and backgrounds enjoying the festivities.
The Nishan Sahib (the orange triangular Sikh flag) was raised at the Civic Centre.
Neighbourhood Police Teams from Southampton Central and Southampton West were in attendance.
Officers said they were ‘delighted’ to attend, adding that it was a ‘wonderful opportunity to celebrate the Sikh community and their rich culture.’
Following this were several speeches at Gurdwara Guru Tegh Bahadar Sahib on St Marks Road.
From here, the procession of over 2,000 people set off, with stops made at other Sikh temples along the way.
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Pritheepal said: “As we go along with the procession, there are people joining along the way as well, so there’s going to be lots of people here.
“There is a great turnout so far and everyone is welcome.
“Sikhism promotes equality, humanity, and integration. It’s such a lovely religion.
“Having this Sikh festival is really important and it’s great to be part of it and to encourage others to get involved with Sikhism.
“Hopefully we will inspire more people to attend next year.
“I wish everybody a very happy Vaisakhi on behalf of the Council of Southampton Gurdwaras.”
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