The custom of Hola Mohalla originated in the time of Guru Gobind Singh who held the first such mock fight event at Anandpur in 1701. Since then, the foothills of the Shivaliks in Ropar district of Anand Sahib's north-eastern region, especially around the historic townships of Anandpur Sahib and Kiratpur Sahib, have been the site playing host to Hola Mohalla. The military performance, which was personally monitored by the guru, was carried out on the bed of the River Charan Ganga with the holy temple of Mata Naina Devi in the Shivaliks as the backdrop.

Features of Hola Mohalla in Anand Sahib

• Hola Mohalla, also known as Hola, is a Sikh festival that takes place on the first of the lunar month of Chet which is usually in March following the Hindu festival of Holi.
• The word 'Mohalla' is a Punjabi word and comes from the Arabic root 'hal' which connotes an organized procession in the form of an army column.
• Although, 'Hola' is the masculine form of its somewhat feminine-sounding version 'Holi', the rituals and customs of these two festivals rarely have any similarity between them.
• Rather, Hola Mohalla is an occasion for the Sikhs to exhibit their martial skills in faux battles.
• Processions are organized during the festival in the form of army type columns accompanied by war-drums and standard-bearers.
• The processions proceed to a certain spot or moves from one gurdwara to another.
• During this three-day-long grand festival, mock battles, exhibitions and display of weapons are held.
• Kirtans, music and poetry competitions are also organized.
• The participants perform daring skills such as Gatka (mock encounters with real weapons), tent pegging, bareback horse-riding, standing erect on two speeding horses and other such exploits of valour.
• There are also a number of Darbars where kirtan and religious lectures take place in front of the Sri Guru Granth Sahib.
• The last day sees a long and grand procession, led by the Panj Pyaras or the five religious men.
• It starts from Takhat Keshgarh Sahib which is one of the five Sikh religious seats, and passes through various important Gurdwaras like Qila Anandgarh, Lohgarh Sahib, Mata Jitoji and ends at the Takhat in Keshgarh.
• Langars or voluntary free community kitchens are organized for the people visiting Anandpur Sahib by the local people.
• They consider it as a part of sewa or community service.
• The ingredients for the meal like wheat flour, rice, vegetables, milk and sugar are provided by the villagers living nearby.
• The womenfolk volunteer to cook and take part in cleaning utensils and other manual tasks.
• The pilgrims are served traditional cuisine and they eat in Pangat or sitting in rows on the ground.
• The festival of Hola Mohalla reminds people of gallantry and defense, concepts dear to the Tenth Guru who was at that time battling the Mughal Empire and the hill kings.
• Recently, the Indian Government allotted it the status of a national festival.

Season of Hola Mohalla in Anand Sahib

March is the month when Hola Mohalla is celebrated.

How To Reach Punjab

Reaching the land of Hola Mohalla is not difficult at all.

By Air Chandigarh and Amritsar are the two major airports, connected to other cities in India by regular flights. Indian airlines do have regular flights from Chandigarh to Delhi, Lucknow, Leh and Amritsar.

By Rail Anand Sahib is well connected with other parts of the country by rail. Chandigarh, Amritsar, Ludhiana, Pathankot and Jalandhar are the major railway hubs in Anand Sahib.

By Road State Highways connect major cities to the state capital. NH 1 or the Grand Trunk Road connects the state with most of the north as well as east India.

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