Kavi Darbar is the name given to an event or gathering where poets “Kavi” assemble to engage in recitation of their poetry. Guru Gobind Singh Ji, the tenth Guru of the Sikhs, was a master poet, warrior, and philosopher. Guru Gobind Singh Ji is famous for his love of poetry, and he used to compose poetry in Hindi/Brij/Sanskrit, Persian and Punjabi. Guru ji used to have gatherings of many poets. These gatherings were held every month on a full moon near the Gurdwara Paonta Sahib in the state of Himachal Pradesh, India. At these gatherings the poets would recite their poetry and listen to others do the same. The place where he arranged these gathering is also called “Kavi Darbar”. It is an open-air location adjacent of the River Yamuna.
In our Gurdwara, Kavi Darbar was held on December 20, 2019 to honor and celebrate the Prakash purab of Guru Gobind Singh ji. We had 15 plus kids as well as adults read as well as sing poems. All the poems that were recited were related to Guru Gobind Singh Ji. Some poems were about the events happening at the time and some were written by him. One famous shabad that was read was “Mitar Pyare Nu, Haal Muridan Da Kehna”. This shabad was recited by Guru Gobind Singh Ji in the Machhiwara forest when he was separated from everyone else. Guru Ji longs for the remembrance of Waheguru despite the hardships and losses.
In total, 17 kids and 8 adults recited poems. The kids who participated in Kavi Darbar were Harman Singh, Jaskeerat Singh, Danveer Singh Nijjar, Harman Kaur Bindra, Harsonica Kaur Bindra, Simran Kaur Mahanta, Riya Kaur Mahanta, Parnaz Kaur, Dilzafer Singh, Tanisha Kaur, Prabhnoor Kaur, Keert Singh, Aekem Singh, Suchnoor Singh, Jaskeert Singh, Simrit Singh and Gurleen Kaur. Amarjit Kaur, Sarabjit Kaur Kapoor, Jaswinder Kaur, Gurpreet Kaur, Amandeep Singh, Harbaldeep Singh, Kamal Chadha, and Sukhmani Kaur were amongst the adults who participated in Kavi Darbar. It was amazing to see the enthusiasm of the kids and adults to take part in the Kavi Darbar. This was a great way to pay tribute and to carry on Guru Gobind Singh Ji’s legacy because Guru ji enjoyed poetry and held Kavi Darbars.
