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VAISAKHI CELEBRATIONS IN GRAVESEND ON 17 April 2010
Order of Procession further down

Celebrations of the Sikh festival of Vaisakhi started in Gravesend on Saturday 3rd April with the raising of the Sikh flag outside the Civic Centre, and will reach a peak next weekend when the communities of Kent and South East London join the popular and colourful Nagar Kirtan (procession) on Saturday, followed by the Gurpurb (celebratory service) on Sunday 18th April at the new Guru Nanak Darbar Gurdwara. The procession is expected to be attended by over 5,000 people, setting off from the new Guru Nanak Darbar Gurdwara in Guru Nanak Marg, the newly-named road leading to the Gurdwara from Saddington Street. The procession will pass through the Town Centre, past the Guru Ravidas Gurdwara in Brandon Street and the existing Guru Nanak Gurdwara in Clarence place, before returning to the new Gurdwara. The weekend will see the main hall of the new Gurdwara being opened and used for the first time, as well as the spectacular main lobby that will welcome visitors to the new building.

The Nagar Kirtan will include the following:

1. Panj Pyare and flag bearers

2. Guru Granth Sahib within a model of the Darbar Sahib (Golden Temple)

3. Sangat (congregation) walking, on lorries and in minibuses from the Guru Nanak and Milan Day Centres for the elderly, reciting Kirtan.

Gatka (Sikh martial art) demonstrations will be given by the Baba Fateh Singh Gatka Akhara. The religious part of the procession will be followed by cultural, social and sports groups, including Lethal Soundz, Jugnu Bhangra Group, Asian Welfare Society, Four by Four Bhangra Group, children from Wrotham Road, Rosherville and Holy Trinity Primary Schools, the Police, Fire Brigade and Ambulance services and the Guru Nanak Gravesend Football Club. The procession will leave the new Gurdwara at 11.30, and is expected to return at about 2.00pm. After the procession, there will be a funfair for children on the sports ground next to the new Gurdwara.
The main religious service in the Gurdwara to celebrate Vaisakhi will be held on Sunday 18th April.

Jaspal Singh Dhesi
President, Guru Nanak Darbar Gurdwara

Guru Nanak Darbar Gurdwara, Gravesend Nagar Kirtan,