The 548th birth anniversary of the founder of Sikhism Sri Guru Nanak Dev, also known as Guru Nanak Jayanti or Guru Nanak's Parkash Gurpurab, was celebrated in the Garden City on Sunday with full ardour and devotion.
While the date of the festival varies from year to year as per the Indian lunar calendar, this year Gurpurab was celebrated on November 4, worldwide. Normally, the celebrations last three days with Sikhs visiting Gurudwaras, seeking Guru Nanak Devji's blessings, eating langar and decorating their houses with lights.
In Christchurch too, over 350 devotees gathered at the Gurudwara Singh Sabha Christchurch, which is managed by the New Zealand Sikh Society, South Island (Inc.).
Mr Jitender Sahi, spokesperson of the Society informed, “Apart from the usual langar and people seeking blessings of Guru Nanak Devji, recitation of Sri Akhand Path Sahib was held too. Hamilton's Ragi Jatha especially came to the Garden City for shabad kirtan and special kirtan samagams.”
Meanwhile, as reported earlier by IWK, the Gurudwara Singh Sabha Christchurch will soon be shifting to a more permanent premises on Stanmore Road, with the Society already having applied for resource consent. Right now, the Gurudwara is operating from temporary premises located at Landsdowne Terrace.