HOLA MAHALLA, SHRI ANANDPUR SAHIB

Hola Mahalla (or Hola Mohalla or simply Hola) is a Sikh festival that takes place on the first of the lunar month of 'Chet' which usually falls in March. This, by a tradition established by Guru Gobind Singh Ji, follows the Hindu festival of 'Holi' by one day; Hola is the masculine form of the feminine sounding Holi.

The word "Mahalla" is a Punjabi word that implies an organized procession in the form of an army column. But unlike Holi, when people playfully sprinkle colored powder, dry or mixed in water, on each other, the Guru made Hola Mahalla an occasion for the Sikhs to demonstrate their martial skills in simulated battles.Together the words "Hola Mahalla" stands for "mock fight". During this festival, processions are organised in the form of army type columns accompanied by war-drums and standard-bearers and proceeding to a given spot or moving in state from one gurudwara to another. The custom originated in the time of Guru Gobind Singh Ji, who held the first such mock fight event at Anandpur Sahib in February 1701.

Text Source: http://www.sikhiwiki.org/

by SARANJIT SINGH

THANK YOU
(feel free to write)