Holi, the festival of colours, is a marker of India’s unique Diversity where the festival in itself is moulded into different ideas, stems from a plethora of beliefs and is celebrated vividly and diversely in different corners of India.
One such unique celebration of Holi is “Hola Mohalla”, a festival under the tradition established by the tenth Master of Sikhism, Shri Guru Gobind Singh, which is celebrated on the first of the lunar month of Chaitra that generally falls in the month of March.
The name itself stands for a riot of martial skills. Mohalla has its origin in the Arabic root “hal” and finds a place in Punjabi as an organized procession resembling an army march. Therefore, being organised along with the Holi, this was called Hola Mohalla.
Hola Mohalla – a symbol of Patriotism and Courage
The historical township of Anandpur Sahib located in the foothills of the Shivaliks the in Ropar district of Punjab has witnessed this festivity since the year 1701 and now is a recognized festival in India with Martial art display not only in Anandpur Sahib but across the globe where the Sikh Diaspora has settled.
Six forts including the Takht Keshgarh Sahib were constructed by Guru Gobind Singh for the defence of the city during his twenty-five years of stay here. These are the Qila Anandgarh, ,Qila Fatehgarh Qila Holgarh, Qila Lohgarh and Qila Taragarh.
Looking into the historical pieces of evidence, Guru Gobind Singh created an army of Sant Siphais, the saint soldiers from the meek and the docile. India at that time was under the oppression of the Mughal invaders. This move paved the way for the awakening of patriotism and courage in the minds of the masses to stand against the oppression of Aurangzeb.
Khalsa pant was established in the year 1699. The soldiers were designated “Akal Purakh ki Fauj”, Army of the Immortal. To inculcate pride in the newly created army, mock drills were organized and Hola Mohalla thus became a tradition for the display of such skills.
True to his words “चिडि़यों से मै बाज तड़ाऊं। सवा लाख से एक लड़ाऊं। तभी गोबिंद सिंह नाम कहाऊं।”, Guru Gobind Singh ensured that his army was prepared for any upcoming wars.
To this day this armed Sikh warrior order has continued this tradition of displaying their prowess acquired as a legacy over the generations. Sikhs in large numbers still gather at Anandpur Sahib and an impressive and colourful procession is taken out in which the Nihangs and other devotees, attired in their traditional outfits, form the front line, all along displaying their skill in the use of traditional arms, horsemanship, tent-pegging, gatka fighting and other war-like sports akin to their military skills.
Generally organized over a period of one week, The processions and Nagar Kirtans begin at Fort Keshgarh Sahib and the festivities culminate at the Holgarh Fort. The Hola Mahalla festival is unique in that the Nihang have tried to uphold the traditional structure and the essence as established during its inception by the Tenth Guru.
The festival is a living testimony that a will of steel is all that is required to turn the fate of the subservient from being a sufferer to being a liberator.
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