This Baisakhi, get a taste of Punjab’s rural culture

Baisakhi, a festival of joy for farmers to mark the beginning of the harvesting season, is here and the Capital is all set to celebrate it with fun and frolic, reports Ritam Halder.

Baisakhi, a festival of joy for farmers to mark the beginning of the harvesting season, is here and the Capital is all set to celebrate it with fun and frolic.

At the Indira Gandhi National Centre for Arts (IGNCA), the three-day Punjabi Mela organised by the Punjabi Academy and Department of Art, Culture and Languages, Delhi, saw a huge footfall who turned up to get a taste of rural Punjab in the heart of the city.

Jasjit Kaur, a 40-year-old resident of Lajpat Nagar who was there with her family, felt nostalgic. “We belong to Ludhiana and have been staying in Delhi for the past 10 years. We really miss the celebrations back home but can’t take the kids to Ludhiana every time. So it’s good that something is happening here. It is a sort of outing which the children enjoy and also get a flavour of their roots and culture,” she said.

With huts, charpoys, wells, matkas and stalls selling goodies wooing the crowd, a part of the IGNCA campus looked no less than mini Punjab. A small corner, where musical instruments like dholaks and rural artifacts like lassi glasses and milk containers were on display, gave the revelers more options to choose from and take home.

Among the stalls is the eye grabber 1469. Manbir Singh, 28, who manned the stall which had funky Sikh T-shirts, posters, coasters and amazing Phulkari garments, said after five years of journey, the brand has become quite popular. “There is a lot of enthusiasm and demand for our products across Delhi and Punjab,” he said.

Meanwhile, Gidda and Bhangra workshops were organised at many places across the Capital. At Baisakhi Festival at Delhi Haat, hundreds came in to shop. “New clothes for family and gifts for friends are must buys. Preparations are nearly over. Now it’s time to celebrate with loved ones,” Sukhbir Singh, a 35-year-old businessman from Green Park, said.

Thousands were also seen at the gurudwaras with flowers and offerings for the divine one.