Celebrations marking the 400th ‘Prakash Parb’ (birth anniversary) of ninth Sikh Guru Teg Bahadur will begin in Delhi gurdwaras with special prayers on Sunday, the Delhi Sikh Gurdwara Management Committee (DSGMC) said on Saturday.
Several programmes have been planned which will be held in coming months to celebrate the momentous occasion in a befitting manner, chairman of DSGMC Manjinder Singh Sirsa said.
Around 400 Sikh organisations and charitable institutions in Delhi and NCR will be closely associated with the celebrations at the historic gurdwara Sis Ganj Sahib where Guru Teg Bahdur attained martyrdom, he said.
The concluding function will be organized with complete religious fervour at Gurdwara Rakab Ganj where mortal remains of Guru Teg Bahadur were consigned to flames, Sirsa said.
An executive committee of 101 members including Sikh historians, academicians and celebrities, headed by the president of Takht Sri Harimandir, Patna Sahib, management committee Avtar Singh Hit has been constituted to finalise the broad contours for celebrations and chalk out programmes including seminars, symposia and lectures to throw light on various facets of life and philosophy of Guru Teg Bahadur, he said.
Sirsa said an International seminar on the life and teachings of Guru Tegh Bahadur will be organised in Delhi in February 2021.
A grand ‘Nagar Kirtan’ ( religious processions ) led by 'Panj Pyaras' will start from Guru Teg Bahadur's birthplace in Amritsar and will reach Rakabganj Gurudwara in Delhi covering major cities and places associated with the Guru’s life over the course of 15 days, he said.
A mega 'Kirtan Darbar' at the Indira Gandhi Indoor Stadium will be held in March 2021 in which 1,100 students from Guru Harkishan public schools will simultaneously recite ‘shabad’ and perform ‘kirtan’, Sirsa said.
A laser show on the life, teachings and philosophy of Guru Tegh Bahadur will also be held at the event, he said.
Other programmes like tree plantation, ‘ardas’ based on 'Gurbani', blood donation and medical camps, demonstrations of Sikh marshall arts and translation of Guru's teachings in several international languages will be part of the celebrations, he added.