INSIDE THE GURU'S GATE - Anpere

Children representing the panj pyare in city procession
The factors determining the particular route of Nagar kirtan performances are
often related to practical circumstances and the theme for which the event is organized.
To achieve a high degree of public display local Sikhs generally choose a series
of geographical locations that represent main centers in a city and areas in which a
large population of devotees reside to create a meaningful structure of places. 659 The
course of the route may be organized as a circular roundtrip with the gurdwara as the
starting and finishing point and the collective movement enclosing a space in the
geography, or is arranged like a one-way route between two or more sanctuaries that
bear historical association to the particular Guru of celebration. During my fieldwork
the local congregation arranged Nagar kirtan in connection with Guru Nanak’s birthday
along a circular route which started and ended at Gurubagh ‒ the gurdwara
associated with the first Guru ‒ and passed through the central streets of Chet Ganj
Road, Lahura Bir, Lajpat Nagar, Nanak Nagar, Shastri Nagar, and Sigra. Along a
similar pattern the procession before the anniversary of Guru Gobind Singh started
from Nichibagh Gurdwara and traversed through the busy streets of Chowk, Godoulia
crossing, Shir Ganj, Lahurabir, and Maidagan before it returned to Nichibagh
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Since large number of devotees will walk the whole stretch, Nagar Kirtan must be somewhat
limited in terms of distance. Communities also need to be granted permission from local authorities
for the route of procession.
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Published on www.anpere.net in May 2008