Doon’s Historic Jhanda fair draw heavy crowd

Doon’s Historic Jhanda fair draw heavy crowd

Dehra Dun
Devotees are pouring in for the historic Jhanda fair that began here on March 22.
The fair is organised, on the fifth day after Holi every year, to mark the arrival of Guru Ram Rai, the Sikh Guru, in the Doon valley.
He came here in 1676 and built a gurudwara called Guru Ram Rai Durbar and hoisted his flag on it.
The fair like usual begins this year with ceremoniously unfurled a new Jhanda (Flag) on a tall pole located in the compound of the historic complex.
Speaking about the elaborated arrangements made for the visitors Mahan Devendra Dass said,” Two new ‘Sangat Bhawans’ have been constructed to accommodate devotees. Four ‘Langars’ (community kitchen) are operating all round the clock at the Jhanda Sahib complex.”
Besides local people, a large number of devotees from Himachal Pradesh,Uttar Pradesh, Delhi, Punjab and Haryana come to Dehra Dun for this annual event.
A large number of people already here can be seen occupying every available space in the Gurudwara.
Amreek Singh from Ropar (Punjab) is attending the fair for the fourth successive time and claims that he feel good to come here for the ‘Mela’.
“I love the hoisting of the flag the most,” Amreek disclosed.
The area around the Jhanda Sahib is abuzz with hectic activities these days with a large number of temporary shops coming into being.
These kiosks will operate for one month.
For people like Amir Hassan, who sell bangles, it is the beginning of a good season for his business.
People in large number visit the place to pay obeisance to the sikh guru and also to do a little bit of shopping.
The Jhanda Fair is one of the biggest fairs of the state and attracts over three lakh devotes every year.
The historic pond that was restored last year has added new attraction to this historic place.