Southall Vaisakhi procession
Sun 10 Apr 2011
The annual Southall Vaisakhi procession (nagar kirtan) sees thousands of people attend and parade through the streets of Southall.
The religous ceremony starts at 11 am at the Havelock Road Gurdwara.
The procession normally leaves the Gurdwara at 12.15pm, turns right into King Street, The Green and South Road. It reaches Beaconsfileds road around 2.15 pm.
The procession takes around 3 hours to pass any single point.
It turns right into High Street, Uxbridge Road, Green Drive and Park Avenue. It finishes at the Park Avenue Gurdwara at around 5pm.
The busiest place is South Road. It is covered in free food stalls on both sides which is served from 10 in the morning.
The road is blocked off in the morning due to the sheer numbers of people around. Traffic on The Broadway is diverted just before the procession arrives.
The atmosphere is always one of celebration and sharing. For at least 3 hours it is almost impossible to move in any direction on South Road. For 5 to 6 hours the road and pavements are filled by people.
Note: The actual Vaisakhi day will be celebrated on Wednesday 14th April 2011.
The Police advise against driving into Southall.
Happy Vaisakhi
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