With bright colors, drumming, singing and Indian music, thousands of Sikhs paraded through Selma on a warm spring Sunday in celebration of the religion's new year.
"This is our Independence Day," said Kevin Gill of Caruthers. "The parade is a gathering of our community."
The parade is called Nagar-Kirtan and marks the day in 1699 when the Sikh nation was created in the northern Indian region of Punjab.
Tractors and big rigs decorated with posters of Sikh gurus and important events in Sikh history pulled colorful floats along the route. Live bands played on the back of several floats while prerecorded Punjabi tunes were mixed by a deejay on another float.
The date of Nagar-Kirtan also coincides with harvest time in northwest India, which Indian farmers have celebrated for hundreds of years in much the same way that Thanksgiving is celebrated in the United States.
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| CRAIG KOHLRUSS / THE FRESNO BEE |
| Head priest Bhai Amarjit Singh of the
Selma Sikh Temple sits with a holy book known as the Guru Granth Sahib in the lead float of the Nagar-Kirtan, a parade held Sunday by the Sikh community commemorating the creation of the Sikh nation.Selma Sikh Parade |
"It's two things in one," Sukhdev Singh, a Fowler farmer, said as he passed out bananas to parade participants and bystanders from the back of his pickup.
From other pickups, parade participants, many wearing orange and blue turbans to signify devotion to their religion, passed out sweets, water, soft drinks and Indian food. It's part of the Sikh tradition to offer sustenance to everyone as a gesture of goodwill. "It's showing we are a peaceful people," Gill said.
The gesture was well received, notably by some Selma residents who at first appeared surprised when they crossed paths with the parade as it wound from the Sikh temple on Highland Avenue through Selma and back to the temple.
In one case, the ranchera music of northern Mexico blaring from a pickup mixed with Indian music. Drivers who found themselves at the back of the cavalcade usually appeared grateful when they were offered soft drinks through open car windows.
A Selma police spokesman estimated that 8,000 to 10,000 people participated in the parade. Gurdeep S. Nijar, General Secretary of the Sikh Council of Central California, said 10,000 to 12,000 people marked the holiday at the temple. While most were from the central San Joaquin Valley, some Sikhs from throughout the United States and even some other countries also were represented, he said.