Part of the congregation that greeted the holy relics on Thursday. Picture by Pradip Sanyal

Mandeep Singh, 21, broke into a spontaneous “Jo boley so nihal”. Hundreds waiting on Majerhat Bridge responded in an excited chorus: “Sat Sri Akal”.

The convoy with Sikh relics from Takht Sri Hazur Saheb, in Nanded, Maharashtra, arrived at its first stop in the city, the Behala gurdwara, on Thursday evening.

The rally is part of Jagrati Yatra, which marks 300 years of the anointment of Guru Granth Sahib, the sacred book of the Sikhs.

The convoy, which will touch base at other gurdwaras in the city over the next two days, was received at Hazra by a Trinamul Congress delegation led by Sovandeb Chattopadhyay.

It then made its way to the Gurdwara Sant Kutiya, in Bhowanipore, where thousands from the community, across all age groups, had gathered to catch a glimpse of the sacred souvenirs.

The relics included one of the first hand-written compilations of Guru Granth Sahib, which was anointed the last Sikh Guru 300 years ago by the 10th Guru, Guru Govind Singh. The convoy from Nanded is also carrying the weapons used by the 10th Guru.

As the decorated convoy approached Majerhat Bridge — preceded by cars and over a hundred motorcyclists, most of them sporting orange turbans — the jaikara (slogan of victory) got louder. A truck watering the road led the way. Tailing it, women swept the floor of the bridge with brooms. Men followed, sprinkling water from buckets.

“We want to make the 300th year of the anointment of Guru Granth Sahib a memorable occasion. This is the first time the relics have been removed from Takht Sri Hazur Sahib, which was built by Maharaja Ranjit Singh in 1839. Guru Govind Singh had been cremated on the spot,” said Satnam Singh, the spokesperson for the Central Gurdwara Committee, West Bengal.

The convoy, which travelled through Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh and Orissa before entering Bengal, will visit Maddox Square, Gurdwara Dum Dum and Gurdwara Dunlop Bridge in the next two days. It will then leave for Durgapur.