By Balwant Sanghera
The month of January is closely associated with Lohri. It is celebrated by people all over India and abroad by people of Indian heritage. Lohri reminds us of our childhood in India. Groups of boys and girls would go from house to house asking for goodies of different kinds and even cash that were used to buy more goodies and share amongst everyone. Sitting around the bonfire at a central spot in the villages and towns and eating goodies collected and shared was the highlight for not only the children but also adults.
Lohri is reported to come from the word Loh which means the light and the warmness of fire. It coincides with the festivals like Pongal (in Tamil Nadu), Bhogali, Bhogi and Makara Sakranti (Andhra Pardesh). This is the time when people usually discard old and derelict things and concentrate on new things causing a change or transformation. In Punjab, Lohri is associated with the arrival of a new born baby into a family. It is natural that the celebration of Lohri by NRIs is not the same. However, still there are a lot of commonalties. At India Cultural Centre of Canada Gurdwara Nanak Niwas on Richmond’s Highway to HeavenLohri is celebrated every year with a great deal of enthusiasm. Like previous years, this year again thirteen families blessed with a child invited their relatives and friends to join them at the Gurdwara and seek blessings of God Almighty for the health and well-being of the newest members of their families.
Here is a list of the children who brought joy and happiness to their families during the past few months: Kaden Singh Basi,Mia Kaur Khatkar,Shay Singh Mann,Amrish Kaur Atwal,Akal Singh Johal,Linnia Shimlo Singh,Jiwan Singh Minhas,Tej Singh Bennett,Ashan Singh Atwal,Karsan Singh Sran, Ania Kaur Hayer,Avneet Kaur Lehal and Sahibdeep Singh Basra. In addition to that, Manjinder Singh Sidhu and Manpreet Kaur Sidhu celebrated the first Lohri after their wedding earlier. The entire Gurdwara was overflowing with happy and enthusiastic people .
In order to ensure the success of this special event a number of dedicated women led by Mrs. Kashmir Kaur Johal worked hard all through the week to prepare gift bags of peanuts and rarian to hand out to the participants on January 13. Also, all of them worked tirelessly to prepare delicious langar for the large number of attendees. Giani Tarlochan Singh and his Jatha delighted the devotees with melodious kirtan. All in all, it was a very enjoyable celebration. At the conclusion everyone prayed to God Almighty for the welfare of humanity. On behalf of the Gurdwara ManagementCommittee, President Balbir Singh Jawanda and General Secretary Chain Singh Batth thanked the Sangat, families and helpers for their participation in this special event.
Balwant Sanghera is a retired School Psychologist and Community Activist.
