Thousands celebrate big Sikh date

Thousands of people took to the streets in Wolverhampton to mark one of the most important dates in the Sikh calendar.

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Well wishers packed the streets to celebrate Vaisakhi, which signals the New Year and the founding of the Sikh community, known as Khalsa, back in 1699.

The colourful event saw a march start from the Guru Nanak Sikh Temple in Sedgley Street, Blakenhall yesterday morning, with residents from around the city joining civic leaders.

The deputy leader of Wolverhampton City Council Barry Findlay was on hand for the march, alongside people from all over the Black Country.

The march went through a series of streets, taking in Dudley Road, Goldthorn Hill and Upper Villiers Street before turning around and finishing up back at the temple.

At the start of the procession martial arts experts entertained the crowd, while women and children also sang versus of song from the Sikh bible.

Sid Sidhu, one of the organisers, said: "The day is all about celebrating the birth of Sikhism - it's in aid of that tradition.

"We've had many thousands here, the turn out is brilliant. This is a very important annual event and we wanted it done in the proper way."

During the afternoon those taking part got to tuck into some popular Sikh food like vegetable curry, cooked breads and chapatti as a 'thank you' gesture from the temple. People were handed food during the march, while others were given a selection of traditional grub from the temple when it came to an end at lunchtime.

The Sri Guru Teg Bahadur Ji Gurdwara Temple in Upper Villiers Street also helped organise the event, which was the biggest and best attended to be staged in the city in recent years.

Satnam Rama, aged 40, of Marston Road, Blakenhall, said: "I always like to take part because it brings people together so well. At how many events do you see as many people as this? Not a lot."

His friend Pav Singh, aged 44, of Willenhall, said: "For us, this is very important celebration. Every culture needs to be recognised, and Wolverhampton is quite good at doing that."