Hola Mahalla Festival
by M S. Ahluwalia
Hola Mahalla or simply Hola is a Sikh festival, which takes place on the first of the lunar month of Chet, which usually falls in March.
This custom originated in the time of Guru Gobind Singh (1666-1708) who held the first march at Anandpur on Chet vadi 1, 1757 Bk (22nd February, 1701). Unlike Holi, when people playfully sprinkle color, dry or mixed in water, on each other the Guru made Hola Mahalla an occasion for the Sikhs to demonstrate their martial skills in simulated battles which is presently carried out by the Nihangs. This was probably done forestalling a grimmer struggle against the imperial power following the battle of Ninnohgarh in 1700. Holla Mahalla became an annual event held in an open ground near Holgarh Fort across the rivulet Charan Ganga, northwest to the town of Anandpur sahib.
War-like sports of the Nihangs
Originally known as Akalis, the Nihangs or Nihang Singhs are endearingly designated as Guru's Knights or the Guru's beloved. They still carry the military ambience and heroic style that was cultivated during the lifetime of Guru Gobind Singh. Nihangs constitute a distinctive order among the Sikhs and are readily recognized by their dark blue loose apparel and their ample, peaked turbans festooned with quoits, insignia of the Khalsa and rosaries, all made of steel. They are always armed, and are usually seen mounted heavily laden with weapons such as swords, daggers, spears, rifles, shotguns, and pistols.
The word Nihang signifies the characteristic qualities of the clan- their freedom from fear of danger or death, readiness for action and non-attachment to worldly possessions. During the eighteenth century, one of the confederate armies of the Dal Khalsa, constituted of the Nishanvalia misl chief, Naina Singh, whose style of tightly tied tall turban with a dumala gained currency and those who adopted were called Akali Nihangs.
The self-discipline and privilege they gained of convening at Akal Takht general assemblies of the Khalsa, brought the Nihangs into importance far out of proportion to their numbers or political authority. In the time of Maharaja Ranjit Singh (1780-1839), the Akali Nihangs maintained their independent existence. Their leader Phoola Singh Nihang, then custodian of the Akal Takht, was the voice of the religious and the moral conscience of the State, and at times he even censured and chastised the sovereign himself.
The Nihangs are today divided into several groups, each with its own Chaoni (cantonment), but they are loosely organized into two Dals (forces) - Buddha Dal and the Taruna Dal. These names were initially given to the two sections into which the Khalsa army was divided in 1733. Buddha Dal has its Chaoni at Talvandi Sabo in Bhatinda District, while the main Chaoni of the Taruna Dal Nihangs is at Baba Bakala. in Amritsar District.
The Nihangs assemble in thousands at Anandpur Sahib in March every year to celebrate Hola Mahalla. On this occasion they hold tournaments of military skills, including mock battles. The most spectacular event at the Hola Mahalla is the magnificent procession of Nihangs on horses and elephants and on foot carrying a variety of traditional and modern weapons and demonstrating their skill in using them. The Hola Mahalla festival is unique and distinguishable from other festivals in that the Nihang have tried to preserve the traditional form and content as established during its inception, and strictly observed by the Akalis for more than three centuries.
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