Sikh devotees perform rituals at Patalpuri Sahib Gurudwara, Punjab

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Sikh devotees offer prayers and perform ritual at Patalpuri sahib Gurudwara during Hola Mohalla festival in Punjab.

Gurdwara Patal Puri, This Gurdwara is situated at Kiratpur in district Rupnagar. It has been built on the banks of the river Sutlej and is situated across the railway tracks and is the place where many Sikhs take the ashes of their dead to be immersed in the river here. Guru Hargobind in 1644 as well as Guru Har Rai in 1661 were cremated here. The ashes of Guru Harkrishan were brought from Delhi and immersed here in 1664.

The Gurdwara is located in a large plot of land measuring over 1km square and houses a large darbar sahib with a langar hall located near by. A small sarovar is located near the toilet and shower facilities. A footbridge is located to connect the devotees to the bank of the river. Ample car parking space is available on the Gurdwara grounds. The main entrance to the Gurdwara is from behind the main building. Gardens and living rooms are located to the right of the main building.

Hola Mahalla also Hola Mohalla or simply Hola) is a Sikh festival which begins on the first day of the lunar month of Chett most often falls in March, and sometimes coincides with the Sikh New Year. The event lasts for a week, and consists of camping out and enjoying various displays of fighting prowess and bravery, followed by kirtan, music, and poetry. For meals, which is an integral part of the Sikh institution (Gurdwara), visitors sit together in Pangats (Queues) and eat vegetarian food of the Langars. The event concludes with a long, military-style procession near Takht Sri Keshgarh Sahib, one of the five seats of temporal authority of the Sikhs.

The event was founded by Guru Gobind Singh, the tenth Sikh Guru. The Guru was in the midst of fighting both Aurangzeb of the Mughal Empire and the Hill Rajputs, and had recently established the Khalsa Panth. On February 22, 1701, Guru Gobind Singh started a new tradition by overseeing a day of mock battles a