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Naresh Shulka stood outside his business Saturday afternoon, greeting members of the colourfully dressed crowds who were celebrating Vaisakhi in Vancouver.

The doors to his imported goods shop, Mother India, were open to the thousands of people who walked Main Street as part of the city’s annual Vaisakhi parade. The event celebrates the spring harvest in the Punjab region and parts of Northern India. It is also an important day for Sikhs around the world, marking when Guru Gobind Singh created the Khalsa order and founded the Sikh faith in 1699.

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Vaisakhi is celebrated in Sikh communities around the world, and is usually held on either April 13 or 14.

“It feels like I’m welcoming people into my home,” said Shulka, whose former business, Bombay Sweets, was one of the first in the five-block district now known as Vancouver’s Punjabi Market.

“I came to Canada alone with just $8 in my pocket, and I used to hold tight to every penny I earned,” said Shulka, who emigrated from New Delhi when he was 16 years old.

“But now that I have more than enough, I want to share what I have with everybody.”

British Columbia’s Premier Dave Eby lauded the holiday, which he said in a statement Saturday is a showcase of selflessness.

“Vaisakhi is a time for family and friends to gather in worship and celebration. People will pray at gurdwaras, participate in parades and attend other happy gatherings,” Eby continued.

“April is also Sikh heritage month, a chance to recount the many contributions the Sikh community in B.C. — the largest outside of India — has made to building our province. We have all benefited.”

Saturday’s festivities, which began around 9 a.m. at the Khalsa Diwan Society Gurdwara on Ross Street, saw a number of streets cordoned off to accommodate the thousands of attendees walking in the parade, called nagar kirtan.

Volunteers from various community groups and businesses set up tents along the route and offered tea, sweets and vegetarian dishes to passersby.

Shulka, who wore a light grey suit and matching head covering for the occasion, recalls being among the first to set up a stall for the inaugural Vaisakhi parade in 1978.

“When this district started, we people from India felt that we needed this area, to feel safe in numbers, with our shared culture. We thought we would only survive in a new country if we were together,” the 65-year-old said.

“Now, we are no longer scared. We want to share our lives with everyone — everyone is our family now.”

Vancouver’s Dhruva Narayan, 32, who attends the festival each year, said that the festival is one of the happiest days of his year.

“Just look around, everyone is smiling, and their bellies are fully and happy. No one has a frown.”

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sgrochowski@postmedia.com

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