'Truly magical' Vaisakhi procession in Slough attracts tens of thousands

Tens of thousands of residents celebrated the birth of Sikhism as a collective faith over the weekend with a sea of orange in the streets of Slough.

Thousands of people lined the pavements for the annual Vaisakhi festivities as Sikhs took to the streets in their traditional orange attire to celebrate.

Vaisakhi is the festival which celebrates the founding of the Sikh community, known as the Khalsa, a group of warriors formed in 1699.

Across the world Sikh communities celebrate the Khalsa with Nagar Kirtan, a marching procession with music, drumming, Gatka – traditional Sikh martial arts demonstrations – and a float carrying Guru Granth Sahib, the holy Sikh scripture.

The Slough Nagar Kirtan procession started at Ramgarhia Sikh Gurdwara, Woodland Avenue at 11am on Sunday before leading along Baylis Road, Oatlands Drive and Elliman Avenue.

Gurdwara Sri Guru Singh Sabha organised the procession, which concluded at the Singh Sabha Sports Centre in Stoke Poges Lane at about 1pm and was followed by an outdoor Smagam at the sports centre until 8pm.

A spokesperson for Gurdwara Sri Guru Singh Sabha Slough estimated about 30,000 people turned out for the celebrations and enjoyed stalls handing out free vegetarian food, including samosas, pani puri and sweet desserts.

They added: "We thank the Slough community for making this year's Nagar Kirtan a truly magical one in our home town.

"With the blessings of the almighty, we were able to host the first ever outdoor Smagam this year, which saw over 30,000 in attendance at the Singh Sabha Slough Sports Centre.

"We have been inundated with positive messages from members of the community, and thank all the volunteers for making this all possible.

"We hope to continue to do more such events to strengthen our Sikh community."

The route of the Nagar Kirtan changed this year, and people from all faiths came out to watch and take pictures of the colourful celebrations.

Live music, traditional drumming and dancing featured along the way. People also sang hymns from the Guru Granth Sahib.

Slough MP Tan Dhesi also attended the festivities and shared the following social media statement: “Vaisakhi was celebrated as usual in full splendour in Slough, as I joined tens of thousands for the Nagar Kirtan (religious procession), thanks to the efforts of volunteers and support of the wider community.”