Comments on: Photos: Vaisakhi in Southall

By: amreekandesi

amreekandesi — Sat, 17 Apr 2010 09:09:59 +0000

Great pics. The Sardars have truly conquered Britain…hard to believe it isn’t some (unusually neat and clean) Indian town looking at the pics

By: Billy

Billy — Fri, 16 Apr 2010 12:46:58 +0000

These (very nice) photos show Vaisakhi as a Sikh festival--let's keep in mind it's also the solar new year festival observed by Hindus from the Punjab to Tamils

Yes, but Vaisakhi has a very specific religious importance in Sikhism that distinguishes it from other cultural celebrations of the season.

Nice pictures by the way Preston, mate.

By: Preston

Preston — Thu, 15 Apr 2010 16:29:23 +0000

Quite right on all counts, boston_mahesh — though “one of” is still accurate. ;>)

By: boston_mahesh

boston_mahesh — Thu, 15 Apr 2010 05:02:33 +0000

"one of the largest Punjabi communities outside India.

Actually, the largest Punjabi community in the world is in Pakistan. The author should have stated "one of the largest Sikh communities outside of India."

By: Wanderer

Wanderer — Wed, 14 Apr 2010 23:02:53 +0000

Tuhanu vee Noor Ji!!

By: Noor

Noor — Wed, 14 Apr 2010 21:56:23 +0000

By: jyotsana

jyotsana — Wed, 14 Apr 2010 19:25:06 +0000

As a Tamil married to a Bengali – it is Shubho Naboborsho and Putthandu VazhthukkaL and everything else!

By: varusha pirappu

varusha pirappu — Wed, 14 Apr 2010 18:52:14 +0000

Puthandu Vaazhthukkal. Happy New year to all the states in India that follow the Solar Calendar.

The Tamil New Year follows the Nirayanam vernal equinox and generally falls on April 14 of the Gregorian year. April 14th marks the first day of the traditional Tamil calendar and is a public holiday in both Tamil Nadu and Sri Lanka. Tropical vernal equinox fall around 22 March, and adding 23 degrees of trepidation or oscillation to it, we get the Hindu sidereal or Nirayana Mesha Sankranti (Sun's transition into Nirayana Aries). Hence, the Tamil calendar begins on the same date observed by most traditional calendars in India as in Assam, Bengal, Kerala, Manipur, Orissa, Punjab, Tripura etc not to mention Nepal, Bangladesh, Burma, Cambodia, Laos, Sri Lanka and Thailand. The 60-year cycle is ancient and is observed by most traditional calendars of India and China, and is related to 5 revolutions of Jupiter, or to 60-year orbit of Nakshatras (stars) as described in the Surya Siddhanta.

By: Sital

Sital — Wed, 14 Apr 2010 17:27:47 +0000

FANTASTIC PICS!

By: Shilpa

Shilpa — Wed, 14 Apr 2010 07:46:10 +0000

These (very nice) photos show Vaisakhi as a Sikh festival–let’s keep in mind it’s also the solar new year festival observed by Hindus from the Punjab to Tamils.