Capturing moments and moods

India International Centre hosts an exhibition of black and white pictures titled Hola Mohalla by Jagdev Singh. It celebrates the unconditional love and faith of people in their guru. The show will be inaugurated by Sundeep Misra, author, <g data-gr-id="23">sports writer</g> and filmmaker. 

For Singh, photography is a medium of creative expression. He loves to capture the moments and moods from people’s daily life and especially concentrates on street and travel photography. His work untangles the complex appearance of life, revealing a fine sense for a moment to pause. His photos carry a refined essence of people and life at large. 

Hola Mohalla is a three-day event, celebrated at the shrine of Keshgarh Sahib in the Sikh holy town of Anandpur Sahib in Punjab, every year in the month of March. Hola is the masculine form of the feminine sounding Holi. The word Mohalla implies an organised procession in the form of an army column. It was here in 1699 that the tenth Guru, Guru Gobind Singh Ji, baptised five men and founded the Khalsa Panth, which is the modern day Sikh faith. Hola Mohalla originated in the time of Guru Gobind Singh Sahib Ji, who held the first such event and celebrations at Anandpur Sahib in February 1701.

Thereafter, people come in millions from all over the world to participate in the celebrations. The main attraction of the celebrations is the procession by Nihangs, tent pegging and bareback horse-riding and performance of ‘Gatka’ (Sikh martial art). One gets to see several Nihangs sporting massive turbans with Sikh symbols. Hola Mohalla rejuvenates the centuries old tradition and zeal of sheer faith and belief that the tenth Guru play amongst all the people <g data-gr-id="27">present</g>, much to the joy of millions.