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Sikhs celebrate spring festival in Southington

By Nicole Zappone Record-Journal staff

SOUTHINGTON Sikhs from the local community and throughout Connecticut came out to celebrate the arrival of spring with a festival and parade held April 16 in Southington.

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Each year, Sikhs around the world celebrate the festival of Baisakhi. The holiday has special religious significance observed each year in midApril. Hundreds of Sikhs attended the annual festival hosted by the Gurdwara

Nanak Darbar temple, 1610 West St. Earlier in the day, the first Sikh Day parade took place on and around the Southington Green, followed by the festival on West Street.

Philip Lord of South Windsor came to the festival with his daughter, who has friends in the Sikh community. “Charlotte has a best friend in the community who invited us,” Lord said. “I am from England, and we have a lot of culture with the Indian community. We have a lot of dishes that I quite enjoy.”

Mahi Arora, of South Windsor, attended the festival with her kids and other family members. “My kids come here for the festival, and the food is fun for them,” Arora said. “This festival marks the first of spring.”

Baisakhi is one of Sikhism’s most widely celebrated holidays. Originally, a spring fes-

Ekanjota Singh, Gurminder Sandu, and Setiender Bal, of South Windsor, enjoy a bit of food at the Sikh day festival in Southington on Sunday, April 23.

Nicole Zappone, Record-Journal

tival was celebrated in the northern Indian state of Punjab. The festival, in its beginning, gained religious significance for Sikhs when Guru Gobind Singh the 10th and final living guru for Sikhs, created the Khalsa, or community of Sikhs, in 1699.

See Festival, A34

Michael Katz, DMD

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