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Kamal Kishore
'''Hola Mohalla''' or '''Hola Mahalla''' or simply '''Hola''' is a Sikh festival that takes place on the first of the lunar month of Chet which usually falls in '''March'''. This, by a tradition established by Guru Gobind Singh, follows the Hindu festival of Holi by one day; Hola is the masculine form of the feminine sounding '''Holi'''.
The word '''"Mohalla"''' is derived from the Arabic root '''hal''' (alighting, descending) and is a Punjabi word that implies an organized procession in the form of an army column. But unlike Holi, when people playfully sprinkle colored powder, dry or mixed in water, on each other, the Guru made Hola Mohalla an occasion for the Sikhs to demonstrate their martial skills in simulated battles.
Together the phrase '''"Hola Mohalla"''' stands for "mock fight". During this festival, processions are organised in the form of army type columns accompanied by war-drums, standard-bearers, who proceed to a given spot or move in state from one gurdwara to another. The custom originated in the time of Guru Gobind Singh who held the first such mock fight event at Anandpur in February 1701.
== Etymology ==
[[File:A_young_boy_practising,_Gatka,_SIkh_martial_art.jpg|thumb|A young practitioner with chakari]]
Bhai Kahan Singh, who compiled the [[Mahan Kosh]] (the first Sikh encyclopedia) at the turn of the 20th century, explained, "''Hola'' is derived from the word ''halla'' (a military charge) and the term ''mohalla'' stands for an organized procession or an army column. The words 'Hola Mohalla' would thus mean 'the charge of an army.' "<ref name="SikhChic">{{cite web |date=March 2007 |title=The Hola Mohalla Festival |url=http://www.sikhchic.com/article-detail.php?id=119&cat=5 |access-date=2008-09-17 |work=SikhChic.com}}</ref> Dr. M.S. Ahluwalia notes that the related [[Punjabi language|Punjabi]] term ''mahalia'' (which was derived from the root ''hal'', meaning to alight or descend) refers to "an organized procession in the form of an army column accompanied by war drums and standard-bearers, and proceeding to a given location or moving in state from one to another."<ref name="SikhSpectrum">{{cite journal |last=Ahluwalia |first=M.S. |date=November 2004 |title=Tourism: The Festival of Hola Mohalla |url=http://www.sikhspectrum.com/112004/hola.htm |url-status=dead |journal=SikhSpectrum.com Quarterly |issue=18 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080517080324/http://www.sikhspectrum.com/112004/hola.htm |archive-date=17 May 2008 |access-date=2008-09-14}}</ref>
''Hola'' is a [[Sanskrit]] word meant to be distinguished from ''Holi'',<ref name="SikhSpectrum"/> the Hindu spring festival of colors ([[Holi]]) which takes place the day before Hola Mohalla.<ref name="BBC">{{cite web |url=http://www.bbc.co.uk/religion/religions/sikhism/holydays/holamahalla.shtml |title=Hola Mahalla |access-date=2008-09-14 |work=BBC Religion & Ethics |publisher=British Broadcasting Corporation |date=28 August 2002 }}</ref>
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===Customs===
[[Guru Gobind Singh]], the tenth [[Sikh Guru]] built upon the story of Prahlad and founded the festival of Hola Mohalla. According to Thompson (2000), Guru Gobind Singh established Hola Mohalla in the spring of 1701.<ref>[https://books.google.com/books?id=qMUZAQAAIAAJ&q=hola+mohalla+1680 Thompson, Sue Ellen (2000) Holiday Symbols. Omnigraphics]</ref> Similarly, Cole (1994) states that Guru Gobind Singh summoned his followers to attend Anandpur on Holi when he introduced a new rally in 1680 to coincide with Holi where his followers could practice manoeuvres and combat training.<ref>[https://books.google.com/books?id=tpjXAAAAMAAJ&q=hola+mohalla+1680 Cole, William Owen (1994) Sikhism. NTC Publishing]</ref> However, Guru Gobind Singh organised the first procession accompanied by drums in Anandpur on 22 February 1701 A.D.<ref name="books.google.com">Singh, Barinder Pal (2018)
Sikhs in the Deccan and North-East India. Taylor and Francis [https://books.google.com/books?id=be1GDwAAQBAJ&dq=hola+mohalla+1701+february&pg=PT63]</ref> The new tradition of overseeing mock battles and poetry contests at Lohgarh Fort<ref name="SikhSpectrum"/><ref name="SikhChic"/> has since spread from the town of [[Anandpur Sahib]] to nearby [[Kiratpur Sahib]] and the foothills of the [[Shivaliks]], and to other Gurdwaras around the world.<ref name="Celebrate">{{cite web |author=T. Singh |date=15 August 2008 |title=Celebrating Holi |url=http://www.gurbani.org/articles/webart304.htm |access-date=2008-09-17 |work=Reflections On Gurbani}}</ref> According to Singh (2018), "during the celebrations of Hola Mohalla a sword is most in demand at Nanded, since each participant in the procession must have it in his hand".<ref name="books.google.com"/>[[File:Hola Mohalla Holi festival and sports, Anandpur Sahib Punjab India.jpg|thumb|Hola Mohalla festival and sports, Anandpur Sahib Punjab India]]
===Colours===
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