Sikhs to parade through Preston as part of Nagar Kirtan celebrations

Sikhs clad in saffron robes will parade through Preston to mark a highlight in their religious calendar.

The Nagar Kirtan is a custom where worshippers parade through town singing holy hymns known as shabads.

The festival, which the city’s Sikh community celebrate annually, will see Sikhism’s holy scripture, the Sri Guru Granth Sahib Ji, carried through the city on a float.

Organiser Lakhbir Singh said: “Its a highlight in the Sikh calendar. We started off in 2014.

“It was supposed to be a one-off dedicated to the fallen Sikh soldiers who died in the First World War but we have carried on each year.”

The Nagar Kirtan procession will set off at 12pm from Sikh Gurdwara in Tunbridge Street and continue through Preston until it reaches the Flag Market.

The word Sikh means disciple. It is a monotheistic religion which originated in the Punjab region in the northern part of the Indian subcontinent around the end of the 15th century and is one of the youngest of the major world religions.