A simple, wholesome meal of Poori channa, vegetable pulao, mixed vegetable and jaggery rice is served free to 500-odd people on the Christmas day at the local church of Birbalpura village in the Amritsar district of Punjab. “Though every Sunday Yesu da langar, kadhi rice, is served at the church here. But the one served on Christmas and New Year’s is sabdo vadiya (the best),” Suman Bhatti, a christian resident in Birbalpura, said. (Photo by Sanskriti Talwar)
The concept of langar (free dining) for everyone regardless of their caste, class or religion was initiated centuries ago by Guru Nanak, founder of the Sikh religion. At a langar, people sit together on the floor as equals and eat food. “It is food served in the name of god. One may call it by any name Prabhu da langar or Khuda da langar as well,” said pastor Captain Salamat Messiah (35). (Photo by Sanskriti Talwar)
“I feel great doing this seva (selfless service) of preparing meals,” said Khajan Singh (53) of a nearby Majitha town in Amritsar. He came with a team of five, including his two sons who are engineers, to prepare langar at the church. The menu, Khajan said, is decided after consulting the whole congregation. “We start making the food at 6.30 in the morning. The langar is served at the end of the festivity, around 3.30 pm,” Khajan said. (Photo by Sanskriti Talwar)
Along with the church langar, several locals also provided the Christmas parade traveling through Birbalpura village with oranges and bananas as well as home-cooked meals and sweets. As they passed, more and more villagers came out to watch on the roads and terrace. Many recorded the celebration on their phones, some waved and others smiled in joy. (Photo by Sanskriti Talwar)
At last, everyone broke into dance over songs such as Yesu da Happy Birthday, badeya chawa naal manaya (we celebrate the birth of Jesus with all happiness) and Asi Yesu de bande han azaad parinde haan, naftrat de badle asi pyar hi dende aan (we are people of Jesus, free as birds. Instead of hate we give love) playing over speakers in the premises of church. (Photo by Sanskriti Talwar)
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The lead image shows women volunteers serving langar to people at the church premises in Birbalpura village of Amritsar, Punjab (Photo by Sanskriti Talwar)
Sanskriti Talwar is an independent journalist who writes about gender, human rights and sustainability. She is a Rural Media Fellow 2022 at Youth Hub, Village Square.
