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<p class="C1">&#65279BHA&#7750&#7692&#256R&#256 from <i>bha&#7751&#7693&#257r</i> (Skt. <i>bh&#257&#7751&#7693&#257ra</i> = bh&#257&#7751&#7693&#257, vessel, implement, + <i>&#257g&#257ra</i>, house, meaning store-house, depository, treasure house) has been used in this literal sense in Gur&#363 Granth S&#257hib, the Holy Book of the Sikhs. In extended connotation the term stands for a feast given especially for <i>yog&#299s</i> and <i>sanny&#257sins</i>, or to invoke divine favour for a private or public cause. Bha&#7751&#7693&#257r&#257 in current usage means any feast under religious auspices by individuals or institutions open to laymen as well as to devotees. In this sense it would be like <i>gur&#363 k&#257 la&#7749gar</i>, a typically Sikh institution, except that the latter is not aimed at any specific object, nor is it restricted in duration. As an adjunct of the <i>gurdw&#257r&#257</i> the <i>la&#7749gar</i> is always open for pilgrims, wayfarers and the needy. Periodically on festive occasions <i>s&#257dh&#363s</i> of Ud&#257s&#299, Nirmal&#257 and other denominations hold their ritual <i>bha&#7751&#7693&#257r&#257s</i> at famous places of pilgrimage with great fanfare. <i>Bha&#7751&#7693&#257r&#257s</i> fall into two varieties -<i>pakk&#257</i> and <i>kachch&#257</i>. The former comprises rich viands with most of the eatables fried in ghee while the latter offers a simpler fare, closer to the workaday repast.</p>
</ol><p class="CONT">Major Gurmukh Si&#7749gh (Retd.)<br></p><BR>
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