Setting an example of communal harmony, Delhi artist Mohammad Gulfam and his 26-member team are working in tandem at the state-level function to commemorate the 400th prakash purab celebrations of Sikhs’ ninth master Guru Tegh Bahadur in Panipat on April 24.
Painting of ‘Ek Onkar’ to decorate the pandal, main entrance gate, stage and backdrop, among other places by Mohammad Gulfam is the highlight of this religious        festivity.
“Art knows no religion. We work in Temples, Mosques, Gurudwaras everywhere. Sometimes we even do decorations in ‘jagran’. Our team has also done a lot of decoration work at various religious events organized on the occasion of Gurpurab,” said Mohammad Gulfam, who heads a team of 26 Muslim artisans — all hailing from Delhi.
Gulfam shared that ensuring his participation in this grand event, he along with his team had reached Panipat on April 12. “My team is working with reverence continuously for 18 to 19 hours to decorate the pandal, main entrance gate, stage and backdrop set up at the function,” he said adding that team members Sharif, Akram, Nawab Ali, Rizwan, Ayub, and others had first prepared an iron structure for the main entrance, stage and backdrop after which beautiful wood and thermocol art have been done on this structure to give a grand welcome to the ‘sangat’ who would be attending this historic event.
“Working in such religious events preaching the message of communal harmony and brotherhood certainly gives his team an all different spiritual comfort. Participating in such a religious programme gives inner peace. We all should come together to show religious and communal harmony,” said Gulfam.
Notably, Haryana government is set to host a grand celebration in Panipat on April 24 to mark the 400th parkash purb of Sikhs ninth master Guru Tegh Bahadur.
As part of the preparations, a cleanliness drive was carried out in Panipat on Friday to make the city clean and to avoid any inconvenience to the sangat who will attend the celebrations. MP Sanjay Bhatia, MLA Mahipal Dhanda, MLA Pramod Vij, and Deputy Commissioner Sunil Sarwan participated in the drive.
CMO officials said that nearly one lakh people will attend the event. A grand pandal has been planned on two lakh square feet on a 25 acre field.
Ahead of the event, a team of the Haryana government visited Amritsar to bring the holy water of the Golden Temple sarovar for the event.
Khattar, his cabinet, the Leader of the Opposition, leaders of all political parties in the state, and Sant Samaj will participate in the event. Sikh musicians, Ragi and Dhadi, from across the country will also be present. The event will be focused on highlighting the teachings of Guru Teg Bahadur.