HOLLA MOHALLA SIKHIWIKI CODE

Maximum attendance at Anandpur Sahib is observed from 2 days before Holi, to the day after Holi when the Holla Mohalla festival or traditional sports day of the Nihang Dals is celebrated. As many as 1 million pilgrims & visitors from all over Punjab, start converging at the holy towns of Kiratpur Sahib & Anandpur Sahib a week before Holi. The festival of Holla Mohalla is celebrated to coincide with the festival of Holi. In the last 150 years in Punjab the Sadhu-Sant movement has been huge. The Nirmala Panth was of Sants, and Sadhus, some being gristi and others being celibate.

Over the years many Sikhs have called Sadhus, Sants and vice-versa. They practice old martial arts & horsemanship, showcasing their daring skills in sword fighting, tent pegging, archery & other martial skills of the bygone era. The word Sadhu means a renunicate from the world.

HOLLA MOHALLA SIKHIWIKI CODE

The Nihangs still live by the code of warriors of that era. At the time of Akali Baba Hanuman Singh Ji, the next leader of the Akal Takht Sahib and Khalsa Army (Dal Panth - Buddha/Tarana Dal), there was no large Gurughar as we see today. The words Hola Mohalla would thus stand for The charge of an army.РІР‚в„ў Hola Mahalla begins on the first day of the lunar month of Chet in the Nanakshahi calendar. The Gurudwara Dukh Niwaran Sahib is the site where Guru Tegh Bahadur Ji healed a sick person.

To this day it is celebrated by the Nihang Dals or Holy Warriors who claim their descent from the original regiments of the Guru. Holla Mohalla Hola is derived from the word halla (a military charge) and the term mohalla stands for an organized procession or an army column. It was aimed to be a sports day to determine the military preparedness of the Khalsa Pant (or Holy Warriors) to fight tyranny & establish a just social order in India. Hola Mohalla is a big festive event for Sikhs around the world.

The Holla Mohalla Festival at Anandpur Sahib was established by Guru Gobind Singh Ji (10th Guru of the Sikhs) on 22nd February, 1701. Hola Mohalla, also called Hola, is a three day long Sikh festival which normally falls in March and takes place on the second day of the lunar month of Chett, a day after the Hindu spring festival Holi but sometimes coincides with Holi.

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