Baha'is to kickoff 12-day Ridvan festival on Saturday

Come Saturday, the Baha'is will be celebrating the Ridvan (paradise) festival, which is considered as one of the greatest festivals of the community. A small community, the Baha'is consider Baha'u'llah as their prophet.

It was on April 21 in 1863 when Baha'u'llah declared himself as the Promised one and manifestation of God. "Since then, this day is celebrated the most by the community," said Nargis Gaur, member of the community.

The celebrations last for 12 days in which the ninth and the 12th day are particularly considered to be important. "On the ninth day his family joined him in the garden of Ridvan, which was in Baghdad and on the 12th day he was exiled to Constantinople by the Ottoman Empire," said Gaur.

As part of celebrations, besides having a feast, the community conducts prayers and spiritual programs and believes in raising awareness on several issues. Performances are given by school children and they are educated about gender-sensitive programs among others. This year the community looks to create awareness on "good touch and bad touch" after the spate of sexual offences.

"We also elect a body which looks after the affairs of the community. This is done by secret ballot. Nine names are selected. This is done across the world by Baha'is at the local level to have local bodies who then take care of spiritual and other issues of the community," said Gaur.