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Hindustan Times

Report: The Sacred Amritsar 2025

The city of Amritsar, which is named after the sacred pool surrounding the Golden Temple founded by Guru Ram Das in 1574, seems like the perfect location to host a festival that celebrates poetry, music, storytelling, history, and food. Its lanes and neighbourhoods are suffused with the aura of this spectacular shrine that attracts not only Sikh pilgrims but people of all faiths moved by Sikhism's inclusive spirit. This generosity particularly visible in the age-old institution of the langar that ensures no one goes hungry. The third edition of The Sacred Amritsar was held from February 21 to 23 at Hotel Sarovar (located on the site of a restored circuit house dating back to the British era), the Partition Museum housed in the Town Hall, and the 18th century Qila Gobindgarh. Kalapini Komkali at The Sacred Amritsar (Courtesy The Sacred Amritsar) Spoken word artist Priya Malik opened the festival with poems about childhood memories, the comfort of home and grandparents, and the simple joys of life. Her act titled 'Ishq Hai, Ishq Hai, Ishq Hai' focused on her fondness for chai. 'Chai is one of the most wonderful things in the world. It is also a love language between my parents. They don't say 'Sorry' and 'Thank You'. They just make a good cup of chai for each other, and that says it all,' she said. Malik was accompanied by singer Tanmay Maheshwari, who performed Luka Chhupi, a song written by Prasoon Joshi from the 2006 film Rang De Basanti, and Aaj Din Chadheya written by Irshad Kamil for Love Aaj Kal (2009). As evening turned to night, Rehmat-e-Nusrat, a talented qawwali group from Uttarakhand, led the audience into a deeper appreciation of Sufi poetry. They dedicated their performance to Ustad Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan and sang Mann Kunto Maula by Amir Khusrau, and Anwar Farrukhabadi's Yeh Jo Halka Halka Suroor Hai. The yearning for a union with the divine, palpable in the group's music, continued into the following day with Swaransh Mishra, son and disciple of Pandit Sajan Mishra from the Banaras gharana — singing a Krishna bhajan called Chalo Mann Vrindavan Ki Or. He also presented an invigorating rendition of the Aghori Chalisa, honouring ascetics who are devotees of Lord Shiva and follow a spiritual path that challenges binaries and taboos. Hindustani classical vocalist Kalapini Komkali's tribute to her father and guru Kumar Gandharva was one of the festival's highlights. 'We keep the Guru Granth Sahib in our house,' she said, recalling her father's deep respect for the holy scripture of the Sikhs, which also includes the baani of poets such as Kabir, Ravidas, Baba Farid, Namdev, Ramanand and Surdas, among others, in addition to teachings by the Sikh gurus. Yatindra Mishra and Malini Awasthi at The Sacred Amritsar (Courtesy The Sacred Amritsar) Later, at the Partition Museum, former diplomats Navtej Sarna and Navdeep Suri were in conversation about the Jallianwala Bagh Massacre — a shocking moment in British Indian history. Sarna's novel Crimson Spring (2022) examined the worst excesses of colonialism through characters who witnessed the atrocities of Reginald Dyer, a British general who ordered troops to open fire on unarmed protestors gathered to demonstrate against the Rowlatt Act in 1919. Suri's grandfather, Nanak Singh, was at the massacre, and wrote a long Punjabi poem called Khooni Vaisakhi to bear witness. Suri's English translation was published in 2019. 'There was remarkable unity among the Hindus, Muslims and Sikhs of Amritsar in those times,' said Suri. 'Naturally, the British felt quite threatened by this, so they wanted to destroy it.' It was chilling to hear this at the Partition Museum, which is filled with textual and visual evidence of how violence along religious lines killed millions in the subcontinent. Poet, storyteller and peace activist Amy Singh spoke about her 'Dak to Lahore' initiative that grew out of her desire to bridge the deepening divide between Indians and Pakistanis. Her passion to find common ground moved many in the audience. Many descendants of Partition survivors spoke about memories of migration, loss and trauma. That evening, at Qila Gobindgarh, Abhijit Pohankar moved the conversation from the longing for a homeland to the longing for a human beloved as he sang ghazals like Aaj Jaane Ki Zid Na Karo and Ranjish Hi Sahi. Laksh Maheshwari had the audience hooked with stories about poet Amrita Pritam, her tumultuous love life and the men in it – Pritam Singh, Sahir Ludhianvi, and Inderjeet Singh aka Imroz. Anwar Khan Manganiyar lifted the evening several notches with his masterful rendition of the qawwali Chhap Tilak Sab Chheeni. Festival attendees at a heritage walk (Courtesy The Sacred Amritsar) The morning of the last day featured musicians Debapriya Adhikary, Samanwaya Sarkar and Sohon Ghosh. In the afternoon, oral historian and novelist Aanchal Malhotra spoke to cultural entrepreneur Sanjoy K Roy about her Partition-related research. Referring to WH Auden's poem Partition (1966), a scathing critique of Cyril Radcliffe's assignment to split up a land he had 'never set eyes on', Malhotra said, 'I have often wondered what I would do in Radcliffe's place. How is it possible to divide people from one soil who are so closely intermingled?' The grand finale had Gobindgarh Fort reverberating with Dastan-e-Akhtari: The Tale of Begum Akhtar, a collaboration between Yatindra Mishra and Malini Awasthi. Mishra, editor of Akhtari: The Life and Music of Begum Akhtar (2021), narrated key episodes from the life of the legendary singer of ghazal, dadra and thumri. Awasthi paid tribute to the Hindustani classical exponent by recreating on stage some of her most iconic songs including Hamri Atariya, which got a standing ovation. Neeraj Arya of Kabir Cafe. (Courtesy The Sacred Amritsar) The festival's last set had Neeraj Arya's band Kabir Café presenting popular Kabir bhajans like Mann Mast Bhaya Phir Kya Bole, Chadariya Jheeni Re Jheeni, Mann Laago Mero Yaar Faqiri Mein and Satguru Sahib Ne Mera Bharam Tod Diya. In between all this festival attendees were also taken on heritage walks to major historical sites like the Golden Temple, Jallianwala Bagh, Gurudwara Santokhsar Sahib, Katra Ahluwalia, Dharam Singh Market, and Saragarhi Memorial Gurudwara. On the whole, Sacred Amritsar 2025 was a fun festival, made even more delicious with chhole kulche and creamy lassi. Chintan Girish Modi is a Mumbai-based journalist who writes about books, art and culture. He can be reached @chintanwriting on Instagram and X.