Hola Mohalla
By Jagdev Singh from Delhi
Inauguration by Shri Sundeep Misra, author, sports writer and filmmaker on Thursday, 21 May 2015 at 18:30
Exhibition on view: 22nd to 28th May 2015, 11 am to 7 pm at the Art Gallery
IIC Annexe, Lodi Estate, New Delhi 110003
About the exhibition
Hola Mohalla celebrates the unconditional love and faith of people in their guru.
Hola Mohalla is a three day event, celebrated at the shrine of Keshgarh Sahib in the Sikh holy town of Anandpur Sahib in Punjab, every year in the month of March. Hola is the masculine form of the feminine sounding Holi. The word "Mohalla" implies an organized procession in the form of an army column. It was here in 1699 that the tenth Guru, Guru Gobind Singh Ji, baptized five men and founded the Khalsa Panth, which is the modern day Sikh faith. Hola Mohalla originated in the time of Guru Gobind Singh Sahib Ji, who held the first such event and celebrations at Anandpur Sahib in February 1701.
Thereafter, people come in millions from all over the world to participate in the celebrations. On the way, several kilometres well before the main shrine of Keshgarh Sahib, you see road side tent shelters offering free food to visitors, loudly playing holy hymns and praises of the Supreme One. Day and night, hymns are read and sung from Guru Granth Sahib at scores of places. Free food (Langar) is served 24 hours day and night. The main attraction of the celebrations is the procession by Nihangs (a distinctive order among the Sikhs), tent pegging and bareback horse-riding and performance of 'Gatka' (Sikh martial art). One gets to see several Nihangs sporting massive turbans with Sikh symbols.
Hola Mohalla rejuvenates the centuries old tradition and zeal of sheer faith and belief that the tenth Guru plays amongst all the people present, much to the joy of millions. Undoubtedly, the undaunted spirit and fervor of the three day celebrations, captured in these frames is sure to leave you spellbound!
Jagdev Singh is a freelance photographer living in New Delhi, India. To him photography is a medium of creative expression. He loves to capture the moments and moods from people's daily life and especially concentrates on street and travel photography. His work untangles the complex appearance of life, revealing a fine sense for a moment to pause. His photos carry a refined essence of people and life at large. Several of his pictures feature on international fine art portal seenby.de and photocircle.net
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