Baisakhi
ach year at the Baisakhi Celebration in Los Angeles, California a crew of devoted people and myself
transform the LA Convention Center into the most beautiful Gurdwara, with magnificently draped
fabric, dramatic lighting and lucious floral arrangements. Some years we choose deep purple and red to
symbolize the strength and royalty of Guru Gobind Singh and hang velvet fabric and beaded canopies to
cover the stages. Other years, as a symbol of our unity, we have hung flags covering the entire ceiling
representing all the countries where Sikhs reside today. Royal blue and bright Khalsa orange combined
in fabrics and ramalas have been used to traditionally represented the Sikh Panth over the years and
when the times called for more sweetness, we used translucent pastel colors in shear, shimmering fabric
to uplift and elevate the Sangat. In 1999, the 300th anniversary of the original Baisakhi Celebration, the Siri
Guru Granth Sahib was placed in the center of the hall to represent Guru Gobind Singh calling for his Sikh
saints and warriors to come forward in sacrifice. Guru Gobind Singh could be seen from all the surrounding
hills on this day in history as he created the Khalsa. And as recently as three years ago, 6o feet of flower petals
were used to create designs patterned after the inside ceiling of the Golden Temple and representing Guru
Gobind Singh’s falcon and swords.
of one
Mural
(right)
