Ritual Life at Gurdwara Punja Sahib: Daily Worship, Langar, Sewa and Festival Performance in Spatial Context

Abstract

This article offers an ethnographic and descriptive reading of ritual life at Gurdwara Punja Sahib, Hasanabdal. It treats the shrine not as a static monument but as a sequence of rooms and courtyards in which daily worship, vows, kitchen service, monthly assemblies and annual festivals acquire meaning. Drawing on repeated field visits, interviews with sewadars and close observation of the Diwan Asthan, the sarovar, the langar khana and the sermon hall, the study follows the day from the early installation of the Guru Granth Sahib to the night rest of the scripture in the Sukhasan room. It then turns to manats, to the ethics of sewa, to the preparation and serving of langar, to life cycle ceremonies including Amrit Sanskar and Anand Karaj, and to the festival calendar of Baisakhi, Bandi Chhor, Hola Mohalla, gurpurbs and local commemorations. The guiding claim is that each portion of the gurdwara is aimed at a different form of worship and that the performances become intelligible only when they are read against that architectural setting.

Keywords: Sikh Ritual, Gurdwara Punja Sahib, Langar, Sewa, Guru Granth Sahib, Baisakhi, Hasan Abdal, Sacred Space.