INSIDE THE GURU'S GATE - Anpere

taking is considered to be a type of seva that attracts both Sikhs and Hindus. In the
prabhatferis I participated in, Sikh and Hindu men used to share the responsibility of
carrying the standard. Some families have established a tradition of choosing more
permanent standard-bearers for the procession of their neighborhood. In more elaborated
prabhatferis the congregration may bring out a framed poster of the venerated
Guru that is placed on a palanquin, adorned with flowers and neon lights, to be
transported on a rickshaw. The lines of the walking collective do not follow any fixed
order, although by habit men usually walk in the front, playing instruments (dolki
and chimta), followed by women and children ‒ the smallest ones carried in the arms
of their mothers. In prabhatferi people of all ages may take part and join in and depart
along the routes as they like. The husband may give his wife and children a lift on
the scooter and drop them at some given point where the prabhatferi is passing by.
Quite often the march starts out with a smaller group of people and doubles or trebles
its size before reaching the gurdwara.
A procession taken out from Nichibagh Gurdwara in 2000 may serve as an example
of how these processions, as religious performances, are framed by a formalized
opening and a cathartic end. At about 5 am all participants were sitting in rows
in the courtyard for a mini-langar with tea and biscuits. A portable Nishan Sahib was
taken out from the gurdwara. After ten to fifteen minutes all participants stood up,
men and women in two separate lines facing each other. Accompanied by musical
instruments they were jointly singing the words “Satnam, Vahiguru” for a couple of
minutes. The chanting was interrupted when one participant cried out “Jo bole so
nihal”, whereupon all replied “Sat Sri Akal” and reverentially bowed towards the
Nishan Sahib. “They take the blessing from the Guru,” the observing granthi commented.
Led by the standard, people began the walk in the drowsy streets, while
loudly singing Chaupai Sahib to the rhythm of the instruments. I was told that morning
processions should always start with this composition and the singing would
signal the beginning of the walk. When the troop was approaching the gurdwara one
hour later the singing intensified both in terms of sound and pace. Outside the main
entrance of the gurdwara all participants gathered around Nishan Sahib and begun to
sing a song in praise of the ten Gurus, Guru Granth Sahib and the Khalsa community.
At the end of the last verse everyone saluted each other and in a final gesture cried
out the Sikh jaikara in unison, followed by a concluding exclamation of the Khalsa
ovation. Along a similar pattern one prabhatferi after another was concluded during
the morning hours. The participants then entered the gurdwara and afterwards were
served tea and consecrated food (prashad).
The hymn which the group chooses to sing in prabhatferis is generally a matter
of individual preference: one or two persons simply pick out a hymn they like and
know how to perform well. Some of the local prabhatferi groups divided the forty-day
period into three parts of 10 to 15 days each. Within these separate time units they
would select gurbani verses whose form and content invoked specific themes appropriate
for the occasion. For example, during the first fortnight they would sing hymns
which were written as supplications, the following ten days verses that touched upon
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Published on www.anpere.net in May 2008