First nagar kirtan from Pak concludes in Sultanpur Lodhi

Thousands of devotees in Sultanpur Lodhi on Tuesday welcomed the first nagar kirtan (religious procession) from Pakistan that started in Nankana Sahib, the birthplace

Thousands of devotees in Sultanpur Lodhi on Tuesday welcomed the first nagar kirtan (religious procession) from Pakistan that started in Nankana Sahib, the birthplace of Sikhism founder Guru Nanak.

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The Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee (SGPC) laid the red carpet for the procession that went to various cities of Punjab and 17 states, including Haryana, Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, West Bengal, Odisha, Telangana, Maharashtra, Gujarat and Rajasthan after it entered India on August 1.

It also visited the five takhts (temporal seats) of Sikhism — Akal Takht, Takht Keshgarh Sahib (Anandpur Sahib), Takht Damdama Sahib (Talwandi Sabo), Takht Patna Sahib (Bihar) and Takht Sachkhand Hazur Sahib (Nanded, Maharashtra).

The holy ‘bir’ will remain at Gurdwara Ber Sahib in Sultanpur Lodhi.

The procession was received by Akal Takht acting jathedar Giani Harpreet Singh, Takht Kesgarh Sahib jathedar Raghbir Singh and granthi (priest) of the Golden Temple Gaini Mann Singh at Gurdwara Ber Sahib. It started from Kapurthala in the morning and culminated late evening.

SGPC president Gobind Singh Longowal, Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) president Sukhbir Singh Badal and other senior Akali leaders were also present. Longowal thanked the governments of India and Pakistan for extending support for the nagar kirtan. He said over 3 lakh devotees visited the town, the highest in a day so far.