HOLA MAHALLA or simply Hola, a Sikh festival, takes place on the first of the lunar month of Chef which usually falls in March. This follows the Hindu festival of Holi. The name Hola is the masculine form of the feminine sounding Holi. Mahalla, derived from the

AKAL MURATI, a composite term comprising akal (non temporal) and murati (image or form), occurring in the Mul Mantra, the root formula or fundamental creed of the Sikh faith as recorded at the beginning of the Japu, composition with which the Guru Granth Sahib opens, literally means `timeless image`. Elsewhere,

KAFI (Arabic Qafi), literally stands for the leader, the enlightener, one who fulfils the need. In poetics it denotes the refrain in a song or hymn, and is also the title given to a poetic form in Arabic as well as in Indian literature. Guru Nanak was the first to

VAR MAJH KI, by Guru Nanak occurs in the musical measure Majh, in the Guru Granth Sahib. The word majh, in Punjabi, means in the middle or midway, and the raga which goes by this name was a folk tune of Majha, the central country of die Punjab, which

ANJALI:Literally,Anjali means an offering of a palmful of water or a few grams of rice to a deity as a mark of respect or devotion. Anjali is also a form of poetry. Guru Arjan wrote four \'chhands\' in Raga Maru (GGS, p. 1019) in the form of \'Anjali\'. In

BAISAKHI, a seasonal festival popular in the Punjab which takes place on the First day of the solar month of Baisakh (Sanskrit Vaisakha, so called because according to astrological calculations, the moon at this time passes through visakha naksatra or constellation) of the Indian calendar. Traditionally, the festival was celebrated

KARHAIE is the title under which two compositions, each of ten verses, by Guru Ram Das appear in the Guru Granth Sahib in Raga Gaun Purabi. The title has been picked from the text of the hymns wherein the term karhale (plural form) or karhald (singular form) has been

BANI, Sanskrit van! (meaning sound, voice, music; speech, language, diction; praise, laudation), refers in the specifically Sikh context to the sacred compositions of the Gurus and of the holy saints and sufis as incorporated in the Scripture, the Guru Granth Sahib. Compositions of Guru Gobind Singh comprising the Dasam

KUVALAYAPIRA My Lord, in the form of a child killed Kuvalayapira. (Sorath M. 4, p. 606) The tyrant king Kansa, in order to kili Krishna and Balarama sent this demon. He was in the form of an immense elephant and was employed to trample both the young boys under

BOLE SO NIHAL, SATI SRI ARAL is the Sikh slogan or jaikara (lit. shout of victory.triumph or exultation). It is divided in two parts or phrases. The first, bole so nihal orjo bole so nihal, is a statement meaning "whoever utters (the phrase following) shall be happy, shall be fulfilled,"