Khalsa Heritage Complex at Anandpur Sahib

April 1999 marked the Tercentenary year of the Birth of the Khalsa. To commemoratethis event, the Government of Punjab envisioned the Khalsa Heritage Complex at Anandpur Sahib as an inspiring tribute to the heroic and poignant saga of the Sikhs and the Punjab.

The Complex is built on 100-acre site. It houses functions that respond directly to the needs of the people — changing exhibit galleries; a two-level research and reference library centred around a great reading room open to vistas of water gardens to house rare archival materials, books, journals as well as audio visual resources; and a 400-seat auditorium to host seminars and cultural events.

Chrysanthemum Show in Chandigarh, Punjab

Chandigarh, the twin capital of Punjab and Haryana, has transformed itself into a plant paradise as thousands of glorious blooms of Chrysanthemums graced the catwalk of the gardening world over the weekend.
The Chrysanthemum Show organised by citizen organizations and school children along with the civic authorities of Chandigarh city won many a hearts with its vivid hues.
The purpose behind the show had been to celebrate the pleasant winter that has just set in and to keep alive the spirit of festivity that is ripe in the air.

Ropar in Punjab

Ropar is a small city which is located near the Satluj between Nangal and Chandigarh. The city once called as 'Rup Nagar' is about 40km away from Chandigarh on the way to Anandpur Sahib.
In Ropar, There are Gurudwaras and temples, where no. of devotees pay their homage daily. The lake formed by the Ropar head works constitutes a major tourist attractions. Its archaeological Museum and Bharatgarh fort are very famous.
There is also a Thermal Plant put up by Punjab State Electricity Board at Ropar. A cement plant by Ambuja Group of Industries has been set up near Thermal Plant at Ropar. New industrial belt is coming up where large no. of industries have been set up.

Wax statue of Sonia Gandhi by Ludhiana artist

On the 59th birthday of Congress President and Chairperson of United Progressive Alliance, an artiste in Ludhiana has made a wax statue of Sonia Gandhi.
Earlier, Chandershekhar Prabhakar has made wax statues of great personalities like Mother Teresa, Rajiv Gandhi and President APJ Abdul Kalam. He says that he derived inspiration for this statue after observing the hard working and dedicated personality of Sonia Gandhi.
He said, "I am highly inspired by work and dedication of Sonia Gandhi. The way she guides the Congress party and above all the way she without hesitating gave away the highest post of the country. Looking at all this I made this statue and today I dedicate it to the nation,"

Miniature Model of India & Pakistan bus

A miniature artist in Amritsar has made a tiny model of the bus to be used for the much awaited second bus service between India and Pakistan that will undertake a trial run on Sunday from here to Lahore.
The model, has made by peace-entusiast and former Guinness record holder, Jaspal Singh. This model is two centimetres long and one centimetre high and weighs just five grams. Singh said the step taken by the two governments would give further impetus to people-to-people contact between the two neighbours.

Holy Procession from Delhi to Nankana Sahib

Cheers, excitement, joy and above all reverence. These sentiments prevailed in the hearts of those during the recent procession of the holy 'Guru Granth Sahib' from the National Capital, New Delhi, to 'Gurudwara Nankana Sahib', the birthplace of Guru Nanak Dev, in Pakistan.
Sikh devotees carried their holy book on a golden palanquin and travelled 440 miles to place it at 'Nankana Sahib'. This historic procession, which is said to be the first of its kind since Partition of the country in 1947, displayed their faith and devotion.
As many as 2,000 Sikh devotees participated in the installation ceremony, which has brought the two nations closer. At 'Nankana Sahib' Captain Amarinder Singh, Chief Minister of Punjab handed over the palanquin to Punjab Province chief Chaudhary Pervez Elahi.

200-episodes Serial on Maharaja Ranjit Singh

Annals of the reign of Maharaja Ranjit Singh, the greatest King of Punjab, will soon be enacted on the small screen with a 200-episode serial being made on his life. The serial named as The Lord Of Five Rivers --Maharaja Ranjit Singh, will be a revisit to the days of his kingdom when he revived the lost glory of Punjab.
With a budget of rupees three crore, as many as 23 cannons, shoes and other items for the shooting purpose has already been arranged for the first phrase. Four- years of research has gone before shooting the 200 episodes of this mega- project.

Bhaji- Traditional sweet of Punjab

Be it a marriage or any festival, Punjabis crowd shops selling Bhajis, local sweets and savouries, the local sweets and namkeens. It is one of the traditional sweet of Punjab, generally disributed in special occasions ans marriages.

Packed in various sizes of boxes, these are usually bought only to be distributed among near and dear ones. The sight of Bhaji', along with Mathis, Dry Samosas, Khurma and `ladoos', can water anyone's mouth. Bhajis are dry snacks and can be preserved for a long time. These are made by ghee, maida (flour), and besan (gram flour).

Virasat Mela in Bhatinda

Local body in Bhatinda called 'Malwa Heritage Foundation' has decided not to let the centuries old tradition of the State vanish. It is making all possible efforts to revive the ancient folk art and culture of Punjab. The recently organised `Virasat Mela' in Jaipal Garh village was one of those efforts.
Organised at `Nambardaran di Haveli' in the village, the mela (fair) portrays a typical rural lifestyle of the State. It showcases traditional activities like people weaving rope, women spinning wheel and grinding wheat on stone and such other activities. It also stages heritage march of elephants, horses and camels. This fair has also an attraction for Punjabi food lovers.

SGPC decided to built 100 schools where haircuts will strictly banned

As the Sikh culture is in great danger, The SGPC has decided to built 100 khalsa schools across the state where Sikhs students will strictly banned to have haircuts.
Sukhbir Singh Badal, the General Secretary of Shiromani Akali Dal said "This is a serious issue of Sikh culture and it has to be kept safe right from the school level."
The event drew hundreds of thousands of participants in Punjab despite Badal's party opposing it as an attempt to encourage object worship by featuring a gilded palanquin as its central element.

Going to Pakistan is a hardships for Indian pilgrims

Many Indian pilgrims go through the expectant rigours and hardships just to reach these centres of worship. In Amritsar, many Sikhs opposed these kind of attitude.

In Pakistan, there are hundreds of historical gurudwaras and ancient temples, which are held in great reverence by Sikhs and Hindus alike.

Pilgrimage to Pakistan continues to be a daunting task for the Indian pilgrims. Its only out of sheer belief and a strong devotion in the almighty that devotees undertake such pilgrimage, taking head on the many obstacles in their path.