INSIDE THE GURU'S GATE - Anpere

Although local Sikhs may ascribe various types of meanings to the ritual reenactment
of Nagar kirtan, the arrangement of culturally prescribed acts and symbols
in the performance is yet another example of how the Sikhs create and confirm the
supreme spiritual authority of Guru Granth Sahib. Participants moving about within
the temporal and spatial framework of processions simultaneously define and reembody
religious experiences and notions of the presence and power of the Guru
Granth Sahib. The various sequences of acts in processions can also be viewed as
external strategies by which Sikhs personify the scripture in the context of enduring
social relationships between Sikh disciples and the Guru embodied in the text. When
Guru Granth Sahib is taken out on tour in processions the text will be surrounded by
pious devotees who in acts of veneration make it a “social other” invested agency of a
personal Guru. The concentric setting of the scripture in the performances points to
the inner center of the text and underscores that what should be the object of veneration
is not merely the scriptural corpus, but the words and teachings of the Gurus
dwelling within the pages of the scripture.
ARTI
The congregation in Varanasi has established a special completion of Nagar kirtan
when it is staged on Guru Nanak’s birthday. After sunset, when the procession
reaches Gurubagh Gurdwara, the carriage of Guru Granth Sahib, illuminated by neon
tubes and twinkling lights, halts outside the main entrance of the gurdwara. A large
crowd of people gather in a circle around the vehicle, jointly repeating the words
“Satnam Vahiguru”. A platter holding burning oil lamps (diyas), incense, and a pot of
pure clarified butter (deshi ghi) are brought to the carriage. The chairman of the VGPC
steps forwards. Facing the Guru Granth Sahib on the carriage he performs Arti, holding
the platter which he moves in circles before the scripture. Simultaneously the
whole crowd is loudly and jointly singing the gurbani composition Arti, while people
intermittently slip monetary gifts onto the platter. The performance is thus merging
the oral renditions of the gurbani text Arti, which is always ending the daily evening
liturgy in the gurdwara, with the act of waving lamps before Guru Granth Sahib.
Cognizant of the fact that the latter practice of Arti disagrees with normative
Sikh standards, the granthis apologetically stress the social functions of the ceremony.
One of them asserted the Gurus disapproved of Arti as a form of worship and the
Sikhs should not engage in it with purely religious motives. In his view, the circulation
of lamps at Guru Nanak’s anniversary served two significant purposes: in Varanasi
there are many followers of Guru Nanak who are not Sikhs and therefore the
community adjusts the end of Nagar kirtan to worship forms that local inhabitants are
familiar with. Since the Arti ceremony is conducted in the street and not inside the
gurdwara, it is not necessarily contradictory to the Sikh code of conduct. Additionally,
the ceremony is staged as an honorary task for the chairman of the gurdwara
committee. During my fieldwork the late Ajit Singh Sabharwal was the main actor
each year. People would say the Arti ceremony provided an occasion to pay gratitude
for the contributions he and his family has made for the local community.
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Published on www.anpere.net in May 2008