Guru Nanak Jayanti — November - Creative Travel I A family story since 1977

Born in 1469 in Nankana Sahib in present-day Pakistan, Guru Nanak Dev Ji spent his life questioning the divisions that separated people from each other and from God. He rejected caste, empty ritual, and the false boundaries of religion, teaching instead that honest living and service to others are the truest forms of devotion. As the founder of Sikhism and the first of its ten Gurus, his words are enshrined in the Guru Granth Sahib. Guru Nanak Jayanti, also known as Gurpurab, falls on the full moon of Kartik and marks his birth anniversary as a national holiday across India.

Celebrated with particular warmth across Punjab, Haryana, Delhi, and Maharashtra, the festivities begin two days before with the Akhand Path, a continuous 48-hour recitation of the Guru Granth Sahib. On the eve of the main day, the Nagar Kirtan procession moves through the streets, led by the Panj Pyare carrying the Nishan Sahib, the triangular Sikh flag, accompanied by hymns and displays of Gatka martial arts. Gurdwaras open for prayer and kirtan from before dawn, and the Langar, a community kitchen serving free meals to anyone who arrives, regardless of faith or background, brings Guru Nanak’s message of equality to life in the simplest, most tangible way.

For visitors, sitting down to eat at a gurdwara langar alongside strangers of every faith is quietly one of the most moving experiences India has to offer.