61st Brahmaputra Ardas Diwas observed by offering prasad to the Brahmaputra

From our Staff Correspondent

DIBRUGARH, August 20: Shri Guru Singh Sabha Gurudwara, located in the Marwaripatty area here observed the 61st Brahmaputra Ardas Diwas by offering prasad to the mighty Brahmaputra at the culmition of the 48-hour long non-stop chanting of the verses from the Sri Guru Granth Shahibji, also known as Shri Akhand Paath Saheb, beginning on August 13. This event of the local Sikh community was participated by all sections of people irrespective of their caste, creed, and religion.

“This event has a very prominent place in the history of Dibrugarh,” said Sri Guru Singh Sabha Gurudwara Sardar Malwinder Singh, president of the Shri Guru Singh Sabha Gurudwara. He further explained, “This is a clear example how deep faith in the Almighty can save the lives of many.”

A peep into the history of Dibrugarh reveals that after a major chunk of this premier township of eastern India had already been swallowed by the mighty River Brahmaputra during the devastating floods of 1954, which also included the Govt. Boys’ Higher Secondary School building, parts of the Bezbarua Park, part of the Gurudwara itself, besides other buildings and areas, the then Deputy Commissioner of Dibrugarh had announced, ‘When the Brahmaputra touches the AT road, the town will have to be evacuated.’

Then it was proposed at a meeting, convened by the Gurudwara Magement Committee that the Gurudwara, which was situated by side of the AT Road towards the Brahmaputra, needed to be dismantled and the material retrieved so that it could be built again at a safer place later on. In the meeting itself, Sardar Dha Singh, referred to as Babaji, suggested that there should be Shri Akhand Paath, that is, ceremonial non-stop chanting of verses of the Shri Guru Granth Sahib Ji. It was then organized and prasad was offered to the mighty Brahmaputra.

The elderly people recalled that flood water started receding following non-stop chanting of Sri Guru Granth Sahib and offering of prasad to the mighty Brahmaputra. The holy event which started in 1954, is organized each year, christened as Brahmaputra Ardas Diwas.