The 551st birth anniversary of Guru Nanak was celebrated in gurdwaras and across homes in Calcutta, breaking from the practice of having a large gathering on the Maidan as a precaution against Covid-19.

Members of all gurdwaras used to come together and celebrate the day on the Maidan. “We decided to celebrate the day in all gurdwaras, instead of having everyone assemble in one place,” said Satnam Singh Ahluwalia, the general secretary of the Behala gurdwara. “People lit diyas at their homes to mark the occasion.”

The gurdwaras conducted kirtan, reciting hymns, and katha, telling stories from the lives of the Sikh gurus. Langar, where people sit on the floor and eat, continued through the day at the gurdwaras. A langar meal typically consists of dal, roti, rice, vegetables curry, salad, kheer, halwa and curd.

At the Behala gurdwara, celebrations were held since Saturday to ensure that people did not crowd on a single day.

Ajit Singh, the vice-president of Gurudwara Bara Sikh Sangat at Burrabazar, said the procession organised on a Sunday a week before Guru Nanak’s birthday was scaled down this year because of the pandemic.

“This time a limited number of people joined the rally. They stayed in cars…. One of the cars had the Guru Granth Sahib (the sacred text of the Sikhs) and it was taken from the Burrabazar gurdwara to the Bagmari gurdwara,” Singh said.

The Guru Granth Sahib is considered the living guru of the Sikhs.

The IHA Foundation, a charitable organisation, held a langar on wheels to feed the poor and the underprivileged. “Because of the pandemic, many poor people could not come to the langar. So we took the langar to their doors,” said Ahluwalia, who is chairman of the foundation.

The IHA Foundation also donated 551 blankets to street dwellers, 551 sets of clothes to underprivileged children and provided a month’s ration to 551 families.