For two hundred years, the Vaisakhi diwan at Gurdwara Panja Sahib has been witnessed only by those who could make the journey to Hasan Abdal. Next April, Afghan Sikh TV hopes to carry it to the world.
Afghan Sikh TV is seeking broadcast access for the full Vaisakhi programme, the amrit vela diwan, the kirtan darbar, and the sangat's beloved tradition of gathering at the sacred boulder that bears the panja, the handprint of Guru Nanak Dev Ji.
The gurdwara, raised by Sardar Hari Singh Nalwa in the 1830s, draws pilgrims from more than fourteen countries each Vaisakhi. Yet for every pilgrim who reaches Hasan Abdal, thousands more apply for visas that never come. It is for them, above all, that these cameras will stand.
Preparations are deliberately unobtrusive: fixed camera positions agreed with the shrine's caretakers, cabling laid along existing channels, and a strict maryada brief for every member of the crew. The diwan will proceed exactly as it has for two centuries; the only difference is who will be able to see it.
The April broadcast will be free to air on every platform. In the words of one elderly sevadar who has served at Panja Sahib for forty years: "The Guru's langar was never rationed. Why should his darshan be?"
AS·TV NEWS DESK
Quick answers
- When will Panja Sahib's Vaisakhi be televised?
- Next April, when Afghan Sikh TV plans to carry the full Vaisakhi programme, the amrit vela diwan, the kirtan darbar and the gathering at the sacred boulder, live to the sangat worldwide.
- Will the Vaisakhi broadcast be free?
- Yes, free to air on every platform, in keeping with the channel's rule that darshan is never paywalled.
- What is Gurdwara Panja Sahib known for?
- The sacred boulder bearing the panja, the handprint of Guru Nanak Dev Ji, at Hasan Abdal. The gurdwara draws Vaisakhi pilgrims from more than fourteen countries.
Reported by the Afghan Sikh TV news desk
The Global Sangat Report keeps correspondents at the historic gurdwaras and a permanent desk in Kabul, reporting on the panth across every timezone, funded by the sangat, answering to no one else.
