Batala

Batala is the eighth largest city in the state of Punjab, India in terms of population after Ludhiana, Amritsar, Jalandhar, Patiala, Bathinda, Mohali and Hoshiarpur. It is a municipal council in Gurdaspur District in the state of Punjab, India. It is located about 32 km from Gurdaspur, the headquarters of the district. It is also a Police District. Batala ranks as the most populated town of the district with 31% of the total population of district. It is the biggest industrial town in the district. It is the centre of the Majha region of Punjab.

Batala is an important place for Hindus as the most powerful god of Hindu culture Lord Shiva came here at mandir Achleshwar Dham with 33 crore devi-devtas to make happy his son Kartikeya who was sad due to his loss of race from his brother and Lord Shiva's son Ganesha.

Also, it is important place for Sikh devotees. Guru Nanak Dev Ji, the founder of the Sikh religion was married here to Sulakhni, the daughter of Mul Chand Chauna in 1485. Many temples and gurdwaras related to the guru's marriage attract devotees from near and far. Every year celebrations are conducted on the anniversary of Guru Nanak's marriage.

Batala (disambiguation)

Batala may refer to:

Batala (music)

Batala is an international samba reggae music project based in Salvador de Bahia in northeastern Brazil. The name Batala is a combination of the phrase "bateu lá" meaning "hit there" in Portuguese and Obatalá (Oxalá), the Candomblé deity who is the father of the Orixas and of all humanity.

Batala was founded in Paris in 1997 by Giba Gonçalves, a Bahian percussionist with links to Ilê Aiyê, Olodum, Muzenza, Male Debale, Jimmy Cliff, Tupi Nago, and Kaoma. Batala currently has over 30 groups in 15 countries and a worldwide membership of over 1,000 percussionists.

History

In the 1990s, Batala founder Giba Gonçalves was living in Paris studying Composition and Bass Guitar at the Paris Conservatoire. While Gonçalves was abroad his friend Alberto Pitta, the ex-artistic director of Olodum, started the educational project Instituto Oya de Arte e Educacao in Salvador de Bahia, Brazil. This project included Bloco Cortejo Afro, a school for dance, percussion, printing, textile design, fashion design, and capoeira. Gonçalves formed Batala as an international extension of Bloco Cortejo Afro in collaboration with Alberto Pitta. Batala was officially formed in 1997, and Cortejo Afro was officially formed in 1998, but the two groups have always been closely affiliated.