MORE than 10,000 members of Coventry’s Sikh community will parade through the city’s streets on Sunday, April 23, for its annual Vaisakhi Nagar Kirtan procession.
The event will celebrate Vaisakhi, the founding of the Khalsa or Sikh community.
In line with the Sikh philosophy of ‘Vand Ke Shakna’ – or charitable giving – the procession will begin with a donation ceremony to Coventry and city-based British charities.
Each charity will receive £501 raised by the city’s Sikh community.
The charities chosen to benefit this year include Coventry Resource Centre for the Blind, Coventry Rape And Sexual Abuse Centre, The Ambulance Staff Charity, Khalsa Fostering and Acorn Children’s Hospice.
The Nagar Kirtan will be led by five Sikhs who are referred to as the Panj Pyare or beloved ones.
They will be dressed in traditional attire with others playing the drums to announce the procession as it moves through Coventry’s streets.
There will also be several colourful floats, with the one leading the procession carrying the Sri Guru Granth Sahib Ji, the Sikh’s holy scriptures.
The procession will finish with a Gatka martial arts display by Sikh warriors.
The procession will start at 10am from the Gurdwara Guru Nanak Parkash (GGNP) with free refreshments served along the route for participants and onlookers.
Gurdip Singh, a member of the GGNP committee, said: “The Nagar Kirtan makes me feel so proud and energised about my faith and Coventry’s Sikh community.
“Every year we first assess whether we can and should run the event and, given the cost-of-living crisis, I did wonder what the community would say this year.
“However, the answer from my fellow Sikhs was unequivocal. The resources and finances will be provided and so was not something we should fret about – it is the Sikh way.”
