NANKANA SAHIB, Nov 26: The recent peace process between India and Pakistan has enabled a large number of Sikh pilgrims this year to attend the 535th birth anniversary of founder of their religion, Baba Guru Nanak , in this small town in Sheikhupura district.

Over 15,000 foreign and local Sikhs gathered on Friday at Gurdwara Janam Asthan to mark the end of three-day religious festivities. This has been the largest congregation of Sikh pilgrims at their holy places in Pakistan since 1997.

Besides Sikhs, a large number of Hindus and Muslims also attended the festival. A majority of local pilgrims belonged to Nankana Sahib, Swat, Mangora, Karachi, Kashmore, Mardan, Rawalpindi, Para Chanar and Jacobabad.

Draped in colourful dresses, the Sikhs brought out the Palki with Granth Sahib from Gurduwara Janam Asthan and carried it to seven other gurdwaras in Nankana Sahib - Paiti Sahib, Palia Sahib, Tambu Sahib, Panjhvin Padshahi , Chehnvin Padshahi, Salji Sahib and Giyara Sahib - to complete the main religious ceremony called Nagar Kirtan.

The festival, which began on Wednesday, ended Friday midnight after a prayer ceremony called Irdaas. Most of the pilgrims coming from UK, USA, Canada, Afghanistan and different cities of Pakistan would leave for their homes on Saturday and Sunday. The remaining, including 4,000 Indians, would return by Dec 3.

On their way to the gurdwaras, the pilgrims were showered with flower petals as hundreds of locals witnessed the scene from the rooftops of their houses. Most of the pilgrims marched along the Palki procession barefooted.

The youngsters performed bhangra (dance) and children fired crackers all their way to the gurdwaras. Police and scouts were deployed on the procession routes to ensure security of the pilgrims. All vehicles were parked some 100 yards away from the gurdwara premises.

The pilgrims in the gurduwara were engaged in different activities. Elderly women were busy preparing and serving meals to their families and young girls surrounded bangle stalls established by the local Sikhs.

Those who had no appetite for langar (free meal) preferred canteen food which was available at higher rates. Outside the gurduwara, few make-shift food stalls were also established.

The pilgrims also thronged a stall set up by the Tourism Development Corporation Punjab (TDCP) to get information about their other holy places in Punjab. Amarjit Goraya, who is settled in Australia and a journalist by profession, told Dawn that the Sikh community abroad was very optimistic about the ongoing peace process between Pakistan and India.

He said people of both the countries wanted resolution of all outstanding issues between them, including the Kashmir dispute. He said what they believed that autonomy to Kashmir was the only solution to the problem. "For this, both the countries will have to budge from their existing positions," he opined.

"Only peace will help both the governments to take special measures to eradicate poverty otherwise a race to acquire atomic weaponry will continue," he concluded. Some five Hindu girls of Jacobabad who refused to disclose their names said that hundreds of Hindus of their area used to attend the festival every year. "We attend it as the guru was our spiritual leader as well," they said.

During the three-day festival, the girls said they used to wake up by 3am. After offering prayers they started doing saiva (cleaning of gurduwara and preparing meals). After 10am they used to visit other gurdwaras and roam the town for shopping.

Gurshran Singh of India and several others complained that non-availability of proper accommodation was a major problem for them. Evacuee Trust Property Board chairman Pir Muhammad Khan Bangash told this reporter that it would construct hundreds of rooms in Tambu Gurdwara adjacent to Gurdwara Janam Asthan to address the accommodation problem in future. The land of Government Degree College had also been acquired for the purpose, he added.