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Photos: See the first Nagar Kirtan parade held by the Sacramento Sikh Society

By Sacramento Bee staff

The Sacramento Sikh Society’s held its first Nagar Kirtan parade in the community surrounding the society’s temple on Bradshaw Road on Sunday. The event is a Sikh custom that involves the singing of holy hymns in a processional through a community.

The event, which was disrupted at near its conclusion by violence, was filled with colorful traditional dress, which followed a seven-mile route on Bradshaw Road, Vintage Park Drive, Elk Grove Florin Road and Gerber Road.

The parade was a local version of the traditional annual Sikh festival and parade in Yuba City, home to one the nation’s oldest Sikh communities. That festival draws tens of thousands of the faithful each year to Sutter County.

People sweep the street to clean it as a sign of respect for the float bearing the Holy Scripture during the Sacramento Sikh Society’s first Nagar Kirtan parade on Sunday, March 26, 2023, at the society’s temple in Vineyard.
People sweep the street to clean it as a sign of respect for the float bearing the Holy Scripture during the Sacramento Sikh Society’s first Nagar Kirtan parade on Sunday, March 26, 2023, at the society’s temple in Vineyard. Sara Nevis snevis@sacbee.com
The five men, known as the Panj Pyare, stand in front of the float with the Holy Scripture on Sunday to mark the start of the Sacramento Sikh Society’s first Nagar Kirtan parade at the society’s temple on Bradshaw Road in Sacramento County. The event is a Sikh custom that involves the singing of holy hymns in a processional through a community.
The five men, known as the Panj Pyare, stand in front of the float with the Holy Scripture on Sunday to mark the start of the Sacramento Sikh Society’s first Nagar Kirtan parade at the society’s temple on Bradshaw Road in Sacramento County. The event is a Sikh custom that involves the singing of holy hymns in a processional through a community. Sara Nevis snevis@sacbee.com
Agamjot Singh, 12, holds his brother Anandjot, 2, while he steers a tractor before the Sacramento Sikh Society’s first Nagar Kirtan parade on Sunday at the Sacramento Sikh Society Temple.
Agamjot Singh, 12, holds his brother Anandjot, 2, while he steers a tractor before the Sacramento Sikh Society’s first Nagar Kirtan parade on Sunday at the Sacramento Sikh Society Temple. Sara Nevis snevis@sacbee.com
Customers shop with a vendor set-up at the temple during the Sacramento Sikh Society’s first Nagar Kirtan Parade on Sunday, March 26, 2023, at the Sacramento Sikh Society Temple in Vineyard.
Customers shop with a vendor set-up at the temple during the Sacramento Sikh Society’s first Nagar Kirtan Parade on Sunday, March 26, 2023, at the Sacramento Sikh Society Temple in Vineyard. Sara Nevis snevis@sacbee.com
The Sikh Legends of America wait on motorcycles to start the the Sacramento Sikh Society’s first Nagar Kirtan parade on Sunday, March 26, 2023, at the Sacramento Sikh Society Temple in Vineyard.
The Sikh Legends of America wait on motorcycles to start the the Sacramento Sikh Society’s first Nagar Kirtan parade on Sunday, March 26, 2023, at the Sacramento Sikh Society Temple in Vineyard. Sara Nevis snevis@sacbee.com
Jobanpreet Sandhu ties a turban on Saba Singh before the Sacramento Sikh Society’s first Nagar Kirtan parade on Sunday, March 26, 2023, at the society’s temple in Vineyard.
Jobanpreet Sandhu ties a turban on Saba Singh before the Sacramento Sikh Society’s first Nagar Kirtan parade on Sunday, March 26, 2023, at the society’s temple in Vineyard. Sara Nevis snevis@sacbee.com
People fill one side of Bradshaw Road as they walk past the Sacramento Sikh Society temple in Vineyard on Sunday, March 26, 2023, during the society’s first Nagar Kirtan parade.
People fill one side of Bradshaw Road as they walk past the Sacramento Sikh Society temple in Vineyard on Sunday, March 26, 2023, during the society’s first Nagar Kirtan parade. Sara Nevis snevis@sacbee.com
Roseville resident Bhavnoor Singh, 17, says a prayer at the float with the Holy Scripture before the Sacramento Sikh Society’s first Nagar Kirtan parade on Sunday, March 26, 2023, at the society’s temple in Vineyard.
Roseville resident Bhavnoor Singh, 17, says a prayer at the float with the Holy Scripture before the Sacramento Sikh Society’s first Nagar Kirtan parade on Sunday, March 26, 2023, at the society’s temple in Vineyard. Sara Nevis snevis@sacbee.com
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