Hundreds of people gathered at the Airdrie Town and Country Centre on April 22 to celebrate Vaisakhi Mela, an Indian Harvest Festival that holds great significance for those within the city's Indian community.
Celebrating the founding of Khalsa Panth, a brotherhood for Sikhism that was established to defend the oppressed and advocate for freedom, justice, and equality for all, the Indian Society of Airdrie put on the Vaisakhi event to bring the community together.
President of the Indian Society of Airdrie, Maulik Shah, said the day signifies future success.
“It’s a very auspicious day for the religion of Sikhism,” he said.
Beyond the religious significance it holds, the harvesting festival also celebrates the arrival of spring, and highlights the important work farmers do in providing food for their country.
It is an opportunity to give thanks to nature and remember the commitments one has made to maintain a healthy environment.
Those who attended the event last Saturday were able to listen to Indian music, dance, and sample traditional Indian cuisine.
“It’s like a carnival where you can come and enjoy the food, dance, music,” Shah said. “It’s all about traditional India.”
Shah said the people of Airdrie made it easy for his society to put on the event.
“Airdrie people are awesome,” he said. “They are cooperative.”
Shah feels blessed to live in Airdrie. He said the Indian community in town is continuing to grow and that he is trying to bring everyone together.
“We are very fortunate to be a part of Airdrie,” Shah said. “This Indian community, which is growing, I’m really trying hard to combine them and basically serve the society here.”
This year’s theme for the Vaisakhi event was giving good values, being kind to each other and showing compassion to each other. Shah said he wanted to use this theme as a way to highlight his and his society’s origins.
“We are just trying to relate where we came from and basically, we are celebrating the festival by keeping everyone together,” he said.
The Indian Society of Airdrie has seen a large amount of growth over the years, according to Shah. It was first founded in 2018, and was officially established as a non-profit society this year.
“Indian Society of Airdrie currently has more than 750 families, and we are fortunate enough that we are growing day by day,” Shah said.
This is the first year the harvesting festival has happened in Airdrie, following a successful event held last month to celebrate the Indian tradition of Holi. Shah said the group plans on making Vaisakhi an annual event.
