For newlywed Dalljiet Kaur, who has taken her husband’s surname Patel, this Baisakhi is special. “This being my first Baisakhi after marriage, is absolutely special,” she says speaking to us from Kenya where she has shifted after marrying Nik Patel. She adds, “Though Nik is an NRI, he believes in all Indian traditions and respects them. In fact, he told me a few days back that Baisakhi is approaching on April 14 and that we should go to the gurdwara together and celebrate.”
Dalljiet says they intend to celebrate all first festivals “like every newlywed couple does and will cherish the festivities with our kids as their memories are very important,” she says.
Ask her if being in a foreign land diminishes some of the enthusiasm of Indian festivals she says, “I am a true Indian who has celebrated all festivals since childhood, no matter where I stay in the world. And from now on too, the traditions will hold the same value for me even though I am settling abroad now.”
As for modernity fading traditional fervor of festivals like Baisakhi, she says it is all in the upbringing. “Even in India I know a lot of people who don’t go all out celebrating festivals the way we do. What we see at home is what we become,” she adds.
