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Denpasar (Metrobali.com)-

The Consulate General of India, Bali, in collaboration with the Balinese Indian Friendship Association (BIFA) celebrated Guru Gobind Singh Jayanti on Saturday, 14th January 2017. Guru Gobind Singh Jayanti is a Sikh festival that commemorates the birthday of Guru Gobind Singh, the tenth Guru of the Sikhs. It is a religious celebration in which prayers for prosperity are offered. People sing devotional songs during the procession and share sweets and a cold drink or a sharbat among the adults and children. There are also special prayer gatherings that are held at places of worship known as Gurudwaras.

On the same day and the same occasion, the Consulate also celebrated the Indian festivals of Lohri, Pongal and Makar Sankranti. These festivals are celebrated in various parts of India, though they fall more or less on the same day.

Lohri is a popular Indian festival celebrated in the Indian State of Punjab, commemorating the passing of winter solstice. A key feature of Lohri is the lighting of a bonfire. People toss sesame seeds, corns etc into the fire and sing and dance around it.

Pongal (or Thai Pongal, as it is originally called) is the harvest festival of the southern Indian state of Tamil Nadu, a thanks giving ceremony in which the farmers celebrate the event to thank the spirits of nature spirit, the Sun and the farm animals for their assistance in providing a successful harvest. Pongal, essentially means a rice pudding and is made for distribution among family on the auspicious day.

This also corresponds to the Indic solstice when the sun purportedly enters the 10th house of the Indian zodiac Makara or Capricorn. Sankranti literally means movement. Makara Sankranthi refers to the Sun entering the zodiac sign of Makara or Capricorn, which coincides with the date around 14th January every year. This day is considered very auspicious by Hindus.

The Vice Consul General of India, Mr. Subrata Sarkar welcomed the gathering and spoke about meaning of the four Indian festivals namely Guru Gobind Singh Jayanti, Lohri, Pongal, and Makar Sankranti.

Mrs. Neeta Malhotra as the President of Balinese Indian Friendship Association (BIFA) on her speech expressed her happiness that these four Indian festivals could be celebrated outside India. The celebration of these festivals abroad gives the Indian nationals and People of Indian Origin to connect with their roots.

The celebrations were filled with prayer led by Mr. Punu Singh Wasu and Mr. Shastri. The gathering then proceeded to light the bonfire for Lohri. The gathering was also treated to some tasty Indian culinary experience. RED-MB