Blessings and happy Bandi Chhor Divas to everyone!
In Sikhi we are so blessed to have many days to celebrate. There are at least 30 celebrations between the Prakash, Gurgaddi and Jyoti Jot of each of the 10 Gurus. Then there are special celebrations like Gurgaddi day and Vaisakhi.
When I was growing up I remember how my community celebrated Gurgaddi day; The children would be given a Sikhi oriented gift from an auntie or uncle which created a sense of specialness for this particular day. Of course there was also a service in the gurdwara, followed by a cozy langar provided by each sangat member who would bring a dish. Vaisakhi of course we have a nagar kirtan with gatka and singing. These celebrations also stuck in my young mind.
But there wasn't any special celebration for Bandi Chhor, no special memories, and as an adult I have heard from Sikh parents that they want more resources in order to help their children remember this day.
As SikhNet has been making audio stories for children for many years we have gotten the request to create the Bandi Chhor audio story. Though we were busy creating other stories this year ('Gurgaddi' which will be released soon, 'Can Trees Grow Overnight', 'The Coming of Guru Nanak' etc.) we are happy to say we will be releasing a Bandi Chhor story next year.
For this year I'm sure parents will have creative ways to engage our young Khalse in the celebration of the liberation of Guru Sahib from prison and his freeing of the dozens of royal prisoners.
HOWEVER, there is a fantastic resource in sikh-vision.com that I'm sure everyone will be happy to know about. Many a Khalsa school will be happy to know about this simple website which is perfect for entertaining the young one while educating them on Vaisakhi, the 10 Gurus and of course BANDI CHHOR.
They've made it so simple: Just print out the cross-word puzzles, color in pictures and games and create some memories with your children:
www.sikh-vision.com/bandi-chhor-divas
Thank you to the sevadars behind Sikh-Vision.com! Please let us know if these resources have helped you!
God bless the children, may we all be blessed in the name of the master of Miri Piri our beloved Guru Hargobind Sahib.
