Blog: Celebrating Vaisakhi near and far
Hi, I am Anagh, and I am an MA student studying English Literature here at the University of Birmingham.
Vaisakhi is one of those festivals that, for me, has always been about celebrating with my friend group. It marks the harvest season in Punjab and holds special importance for the Sikh community, but from my own experience it has always felt like a day about gratitude, spending time with people who make the day meaningful and of course the food. I’ve celebrated Vaisakhi a couple of times back home in Kolkata, but those celebrations were enough to make it something I look forward to every year.
Learn more about what Vaisakhi represents.
Celebrating in Kolkata
Even though Kolkata is far from Punjab, the festive spirit still finds its way into the city through the local Sikh community and the gurudwaras. The times I celebrated Vaisakhi, the day usually started with visiting the gurudwara with my friends. It always felt peaceful and exciting to be there. My friends and I would sit together, cover our heads, listen to the prayers, and there was always a sense of calm that felt very different from the usual rush of our daily life.
One of my favourite parts of the celebration has always been the langar. Many of us would sit on the floor together and be served the same simple meal. It feels very special to experience such warm hospitality, especially when your whole friend circle is there with you. There’s something comforting about how equal it feels, no matter who you are or where you come from. The food itself is simple, but the experience of sharing it with everyone around you is what makes it memorable.
After that, the rest of the day usually turned into what my friends and I do best, finding somewhere to eat and spending hours talking, playing games, and finally, we would have dinner at one of my friend’s houses. Last year in particular, I remember we all ended up at my friend’s place in the evening after being out the whole day. No one had really planned anything, but somehow everyone brought something, homemade food, snacks, desserts, and many more. His family welcomed all of us so warmly, insisting that we sit down and eat first before doing anything else. We crowded around the table, enjoyed different kinds of snacks and laughed about how we had already eaten twice that day but still had space for more. That night turned into one of those long, unplanned gatherings where no one wanted to leave, and it felt less like a festival dinner and more like being at home with family. Moments like that are what I remember most when I think about celebrating Vaisakhi in Kolkata.
The best thing about celebrating in a group is how every year our circle grows and we meet new people. Somehow, we all end up under the same roof, having long conversations, lots of fun, and of course good food. It feels incomplete to me, if it isn’t shared with others. Even a simple meal or just wishing each other “Happy Vaisakhi” makes the day feel different from any other day of the year. I also like how the festival carries a feeling of new beginnings. Maybe it’s because it marks the harvest season, or maybe it’s just the time of year, but it always feels like a good moment to pause, reset, and appreciate things a little more than we usually do.
Looking forward to celebrating in Birmingham
This year, I’ll be celebrating Vaisakhi in Birmingham which is also my first time celebrating it away from India, and I’m really looking forward to seeing how the experience feels in a different country. I’m hoping to visit a gurudwara here to keep that small tradition going, and I already know the day will involve food somehow. Either finding a good Punjabi restaurant, or simply going out and exploring the city, I want the day to have the same warmth that I remember from Kolkata.
What I like about celebrating festivals away from home is that you get to create your own version of them. The setting changes, the people around you are different, but the feeling can still be the same. For me, Vaisakhi will always be about those familiar moments, sitting with friends, sharing the food, having unplanned outings and feeling connected to something a little bigger than everyday routine.
As this year’s Vaisakhi comes around, I’m excited to carry those lovely memories from Kolkata with me while looking forward to the new ones in Birmingham. Even though I have only celebrated it a couple of times before, the festival has a way of staying with you, and I am looking forward to making it my own again this year just in a different city, with the same sense of togetherness.
Keep up with the University of Birmingham’s Sikh Society to see what they get up to this Vaisakhi.
To everyone celebrating, we wish you a very Happy Vaisakhi.