Basant Panchami: Spring’s Yellow Thread of Shared Heritage.......by KBS Sidhu

A civilisational festival that binds temple, gurdwara, and dargah in the simple joy of renewal

On this radiant Friday morning of January 23, 2026—rainy though it is in Chandigarh, Amritsar and Delhi—communities across the Indian subcontinent awaken to the joyous celebration of Basant Panchami.—a festival that transcends religious boundaries to herald the arrival of spring with remarkable cultural unity.

 From the sacred precincts of the Golden Temple in Amritsar where Raag Basant kirtan resonates through marble corridors, to the yellow-bedecked courtyards of Hazrat Nizamuddin Dargah in Delhi where Sufi qawwals sing centuries-old compositions, to the rooftops of Lahore where kites once danced in celebration, Basant Panchami emerges as one of South Asia’s most inclusive and unifying festivals—a celebration not of doctrinal faith, but of nature’s eternal cycle and humanity’s shared joy in witnessing it.

This is a festival painted in the vibrant hues of golden mustard fields, a celebration that belongs equally to the Hindu devotee offering prayers to Goddess Saraswati, the Sikh worshipper listening to kirtan at the gurdwara, the Sufi mystic singing qawwalis at the dargah, and the kite-flying enthusiast launching colorful creations into azure skies.

  Basant Panchami stands as living proof that cultural traditions can bloom across religious lines, creating what historians call “Ganga-Jamuni tehzeeb”—the composite, syncretic culture that represents the subcontinent’s finest heritage of coexistence.

The Ancient Roots: A Seasonal Celebration Beyond Religion

The word “Basant” derives from Sanskrit, meaning spring—the “king of all seasons” in traditional Indian cosmology. Unlike festivals anchored to specific theological narratives, Basant Panchami’s deepest roots lie in the agricultural rhythms that have governed life on the subcontinent for millennia. Celebrated on the fifth day (Panchami) of the bright lunar fortnight in the Hindu month of Magha, the festival marks a 40-day transition period from winter’s dormancy to spring’s exuberant bloom.

This timing holds profound significance for farming communities across India and Pakistan. The festival coincides with the ripening of Rabi crops—the winter harvest that includes wheat, barley, and crucially, mustard. Across the vast plains of Punjab, Haryana, and Uttar Pradesh, mustard fields burst into spectacular yellow bloom precisely during this period, transforming the landscape into an ocean of gold. This natural phenomenon, predating organized religion, provided the festival’s most enduring symbol and its dominant color.

The yellow of Basant is not merely decorative but deeply meaningful—it represents the warm sunlight after winter’s gray chill, the golden harvest that ensures survival, the energy and optimism of lengthening days, and the prosperity promised by nature’s renewal. When people wear yellow clothes, offer yellow flowers, and prepare yellow foods during Basant Panchami, they align themselves with this natural cycle, participating in a ritual as old as agriculture itself.

The Hindu Tradition: Goddess Saraswati and the Light of Knowledge

Within Hindu practice, Basant Panchami has become intimately associated with Goddess Saraswati, the deity of wisdom, knowledge, music, and the arts. The festival is considered her birthday, and devotees across India establish temporary altars adorned with yellow flowers—marigolds, chrysanthemums, and jasmine—to worship the goddess who embodies learning’s illuminating power.

The symbolism runs deeper than mere academic achievement. Saraswati represents the illumination of ignorance’s darkness, the refinement of human consciousness, the creative power that produces art and music, and the discriminating wisdom that distinguishes truth from falsehood. Her worship on Basant Panchami connects intellectual awakening with nature’s seasonal awakening—both represent emergence from dormancy into vibrant activity.

A particularly beautiful tradition involves Vidya-Arambha, the formal initiation of young children into education. On this auspicious day, parents sit with their children to write the sacred syllable “Om” as the first word in their educational journey, seeking Saraswati’s blessings for intellectual growth. Students place their books, musical instruments, and writing implements before the goddess’s image, acknowledging that all knowledge flows from divine grace.

In Bengal, Orissa, and Bihar, Saraswati Puja becomes an elaborate community affair with temporary pandals housing beautifully crafted idols, followed by cultural programs showcasing music, dance, and recitation—all arts governed by the goddess. The Bengali Nobel laureate Rabindranath Tagore institutionalized these celebrations at Shantiniketan, giving them a cultural-educational dimension that extends beyond narrow religiosity.

The Sikh Celebration: Maharaja Ranjit Singh’s Grand Patronage

While Basant’s origins predate Sikhism, the festival found enthusiastic patronage within the Sikh tradition, particularly through Maharaja Ranjit Singh, the legendary founder of the Sikh Empire whose reign (1801-1839) is remembered as Punjab’s golden age. The Maharaja transformed Basant into a grand social celebration that embodied his secular, pluralistic vision of governance.

Historical records document that Ranjit Singh held an elaborate ten-day darbar (court) at Lahore during Basant, during which soldiers dressed in yellow turbans and clothing displayed their military prowess. The Maharaja himself, along with his queen Moran, would dress in bright yellow and fly kites—a practice that became deeply embedded in Punjab’s cultural identity. In 1825, he donated 2,000 rupees to the Harmandir Sahib (Golden Temple) in Amritsar specifically to distribute food during Basant and sponsored annual fairs featuring kite flying as the central attraction.

This royal patronage established Basant as a festival of joy, community gathering, and cross-religious celebration rather than sectarian observance. The Namdhari Sikhs historically observed Basant Panchami to mark spring’s beginning, while other Sikh communities embraced it as a seasonal festival, wearing yellow clothes that mirrored the brilliant mustard flowers carpeting Punjab’s fields.

The musical dimension of Sikh Basant celebration holds particular beauty. Raag Basant, one of the 31 raags in Guru Granth Sahib Ji, is specifically performed during this season at the Golden Temple. This morning, as Basant Panchami dawned, the sacred precincts of Darbar Sahib resonated with live kirtan in Raag Basant—shabads like “Basantu Hamarai Ram Rangu” (Spring is the color of my Divine) expressing spiritual joy through seasonal metaphor. The raag’s melodic structure evokes both the external spring of blooming nature and the internal spring of spiritual awakening when the soul blossoms in divine love.

The Sufi Tradition: Amir Khusro’s Enduring Gift of Joy

Perhaps the most remarkable demonstration of Basant Panchami’s transcendent appeal lies in its 700-year celebration at the Hazrat Nizamuddin Dargah in Delhi—a tradition that beautifully illustrates how spiritual love can bridge religious divides. The story of how Basant came to be celebrated at this Muslim Sufi shrine reveals the essence of the festival’s unifying power.

According to tradition, the great Sufi saint Hazrat Nizamuddin Auliya (1238-1325) fell into profound grief following the death of his beloved nephew. His disciple, the legendary poet-musician Amir Khusro, could not bear to see his master in such despair. One day during early spring, Khusro observed a group of Hindu women dressed in vibrant yellow, carrying mustard flowers and singing joyfully to celebrate Basant. Inspired by their celebration of nature’s renewal, Khusro dressed himself in yellow, gathered mustard flowers, and appeared before Nizamuddin singing the now-immortal composition “Sakal Ban Phool Rahi Sarson” (The mustard is blooming in every field).

The imagery Khusro evoked was purely natural and seasonal: “Sakal ban phool rahi sarson / Umbva phutay, tesu phulay, koyal bolay daar daar” (Mustard blooms in every field / Mango buds click open, other flowers bloom, the koyal bird sings from branch to branch). There was no theological content, no sectarian message—only the universal joy of witnessing spring’s arrival. Nizamuddin Auliya, moved by his disciple’s creative expression of love and the celebration of divine creation through nature’s beauty, smiled for the first time since his bereavement.

Since that moment seven centuries ago, Basant Panchami has been celebrated annually at Nizamuddin Dargah with remarkable consistency. The dargah transforms into a sea of yellow as devotees—Hindu, Muslim, Sikh, and others—arrive dressed in yellow, carrying marigolds and mustard flowers. Yellow chadars (sheets) replace the usual green ones on the tombs of both the saint and his disciple. Qawwals gather in the courtyard to perform mehfils (musical gatherings) featuring Khusro’s Basant compositions in traditional raags, their voices carrying the same message of joy, divine love, and seasonal celebration that Khusro intended centuries ago.

This tradition exemplifies what scholars call “Ganga-Jamuni tehzeeb”—the composite culture that emerged from centuries of Hindu-Muslim interaction in the Indian subcontinent. The dargah committee members explicitly frame the celebration as a message of unity: “We know that there is polarization, but we would like to tell people who divide to come here for a lesson in peace”. The celebration demonstrates that love, whether for a spiritual master, for the divine, or for the beauty of creation, recognizes no religious boundaries.

Similar Sufi Basant celebrations have taken root at other shrines, including Hyderabad’s Hazrath Shaikhji Hali Dargah, where the tradition has been observed for a decade with qawwali performances and yellow decorations, standing as “the only shrine in the city where the Hindu spring festival is observed, an enduring symbol of Ganga-Jamuni tehzeeb”.

Kite Flying: Lahore’s Skyward Celebration of Community

No discussion of Basant would be complete without addressing the spectacular tradition of kite flying, particularly as practiced in Lahore, which became the acknowledged epicenter of this aspect of the festival. The association of kite flying with Basant became a defining Punjabi tradition with Lahore as its regional hub, and Maharaja Ranjit Singh’s patronage elevated it to an art form and major social event.

The act of flying kites during Basant holds both social and spiritual significance. On a social level, kite flying serves as a powerful means of bringing communities together, fostering camaraderie and friendship across rooftops and neighborhoods. It is also understood as a symbolic gesture of bridging gaps and removing barriers between people—the kites soaring freely above earthly divisions.

Historical accounts describe how Basant in Lahore became a multi-day celebration during Ranjit Singh’s era, with traditions including women swaying on swings while singing, soldiers displaying military prowess in yellow uniforms, and massive kite-flying competitions where the sky filled with colorful creations of every size and shape. The festival attracted people of all faiths, united in the simple joy of celebration.

Throughout the 20th century, Basant in Lahore grew into Pakistan’s largest cultural festival and a major tourist attraction, drawing visitors from around the world to experience traditional Lahori cuisine, music, dance, and the mesmerizing spectacle of thousands of kites filling the sky. The city would come alive with vibrant yellows and greens, the colors of spring, as people dressed in bright traditional clothes and gathered on rooftops for friendly kite-cutting competitions.

Unfortunately, safety concerns related to the dangerous strings used in kite fighting led to a ban on public Basant celebrations in 2007, creating a cultural void in Lahore’s annual calendar. However, efforts are underway to revive the festival with proper safety regulations, recognizing its importance to Punjab’s cultural heritage and its unique ability to unite communities. The spirit of Basant continues in private celebrations and in the kite-flying traditions maintained in Amritsar and other cities across Indian Punjab.

A Festival of Unity in Diverse Times

What makes Basant Panchami extraordinary in contemporary South Asia is its stubborn insistence on unity amid forces that emphasize division. In an era marked by religious polarization, communal tensions, and identity politics, this festival offers a different narrative—one of shared cultural heritage, mutual celebration, and the recognition that some joys transcend theological boundaries.

The festival’s unity manifests in concrete ways. At Nizamuddin Dargah, thousands of people cutting across religious and caste lines pour in throughout Basant Panchami, their turbans, scarves and veils all shades of yellow, creating a visual representation of diverse people unified in celebration. Visitors explicitly articulate the festival’s message: “Our country is full of examples of communal harmony. The love between people has existed for centuries. People from all faiths visit the dargah. Sufi Basant is testimony to this love”.

The festival demonstrates what scholars term unity in diversity—despite varied celebrations across regions and communities, Basant Panchami shares underlying themes of renewal, learning, celebration of nature’s bounty, and communal joy. Whether through the initiation of education symbolizing new beginnings, the harvesting of crops representing life’s cycle, or the communal joy of kite flying, there exists a unifying thread of hope, growth, and gratitude.

This is not superficial tolerance but genuine integration where traditions organically merge, creating something new and beautiful. Muslim artisans create Hindu deity idols, Hindu craftsmen construct Muharram tazias, and festivals move fluidly across religious spaces. As one observer notes about the Hyderabad dargah celebration: “There are no religious rituals here—it is about welcoming spring through music, colour and shared culture”.

The Contemporary Relevance: Lessons from Mustard Flowers

As this Basant Panchami unfolds across the subcontinent—with Raag Basant kirtan echoing from the Golden Temple, qawwalis rising from Sufi dargahs, families preparing yellow sweets and wearing yellow clothes, and communities gathering despite the challenges of our times—the festival offers profound lessons for contemporary society.

The festival teaches that cultural identity need not be exclusive or combative. One can be deeply rooted in one’s own tradition while genuinely celebrating others’ festivals, creating richer cultural experiences rather than impoverished sectarianism. It demonstrates that some human experiences—the joy of spring’s arrival, the gratitude for harvest, the love of beauty, the value of knowledge, the pleasure of community celebration—are genuinely universal, requiring no religious justification.

Perhaps most importantly, Basant Panchami shows that unity is not achieved through forced homogenization but through recognizing and celebrating what we share while respecting what differs. The Hindu devotee worships Saraswati, the Sikh listens to Raag Basant kirtan, the Sufi performs qawwali, and the secular celebrant flies kites—all participating in the same festival, each in their own authentic way, none diminishing the others.

Seven centuries ago, Amir Khusro offered mustard flowers to lift his master from grief, and in that simple, loving gesture created a tradition that has endured through empires, partitions, and countless social transformations. The mustard still blooms every spring, indifferent to human divisions, inviting all who witness it to share in the joy of renewal. On this Basant Panchami, as yellow flowers adorn temples, gurdwaras, and dargahs alike, as kirtan and qawwali both celebrate the divine through seasonal metaphor, as communities across borders remember their shared heritage, the festival offers its timeless message: that love, beauty, knowledge, and joy belong to all humanity, blooming as abundantly as mustard in every field.

In these challenging times, when forces of division often seem ascendant, perhaps something as simple as a yellow flower and a celebration of spring holds the key to reclaiming the shared soul of the subcontinent—the recognition that beneath our different prayers, we all seek light, that beneath our different rituals, we all celebrate life, and that beneath our different names for the divine, we all bow before the same miraculous renewal that spring represents.

This is the enduring gift of Basant Panchami: a festival that refuses to be confined by boundaries, insisting instead on the possibility of harmony, the reality of shared heritage, and the eternal hope that winter, no matter how harsh, always yields to spring.

January 23, 2026