Maghi Mela Sri Muktsar

Maghi Mela is held in Muktsar, Punjab every year in January or in the month of  Magh according to the Nanakshahi calendar.o    Nanakshahi calendar was designed by Sikh scholar Pal Singh Purewal to replace the Bikrami calendar, to work out the dates of gurpurab and other festivals. o    Maghi is the occasion when Sikhs commemorate the sacrifice of forty Sikhs, who fought for Guru Gobind Singh Ji. o    The eve of Maghi is the common Indian festival of Lohri when bonfires are lit in Hindu homes to greet the birth of sons in the families and alms are distributed. o    Significance The day of Maghi is observed to honour the heroic fight of the Chali Mukte, or the Forty Liberated Ones, who sacrificed their own lives defending an attack by the Mughal imperial army marching in pursuit of Guru Gobind Singh. o    Historical Background: The battle took place near a pool of water, Khidrane di Dhab, on 29th December 1705. o    The bodies were cremated the following day, the first of Magh (hence the name of the festival), which now falls usually on the 13th  -14th of January. o    Following the custom of the Sikhs to observe their anniversaries of happy and tragic events alike, Maghi is celebrated with end-to-end recitals of the Guru Granth Sahib and religious divans in almost all gurdwaras.