Sunday afternoon saw thousands of Sikh faithful come to Memorial Park for the annual Nagar Kirtan celebration. Put simply, it is a procession where the Sri Guru Granth Sahib Ji through a town (Nagar) with participants reciting devotional hymns (Kirtan).
I had photographed this event several years ago for my ongoing personal project on rituals of faith, and was happy to get the chance to do so again this year with a bit more knowledge of the ‘what’ and ‘why’ of the celebrations.
Sikh faithful fold their hands in a prayerful gesture of faith and respect as they walk past the Sri Guru Granth Sahib Ji, or holy book of Sikhism.
A woman reaches her hand out to touch the cloth near the Sri Guru Granth Sahib Ji, strewn with flowers and beneath a sheltered structure of colourful cloth.
Sikh men are silhouetted by a bright summer sun past a reflecting fountain pond in Memorial Park during the Nagar Kirtan event.
A woman plays with her grandchild as they are spotlit by a bright summer sun during the Nagar Kirtan event, Sunday afternoon in Memorial Park. The Sikh event drew thousands of faithful and other Winnipeggers.