The 10-day Prakash Utsav to mark the 350th birth anniversary of Guru Gobind Singh started on Friday.

At Gandhi Maidan, Giani Iqbal Singh, the Jathedar (religious priest) of Takht Sri Harmandir Sahib commenced the ceremonies with the recital of Gurbani Shabad Kirtan.

According to Sikhism, kirtan is the devotional singing of praises of God in melody and rhythm. The composition is generally sung is classical raga with musical instruments.

Avtar Singh, a sewadar, who had come to attend Prakash Utsav with family from Kapurthala in Punjab, said: "The Sikhs hugely value such types of singing and a Sikh is expected to listen or sing Guru Kirtan regularly. Guru Nanak Dev ji, the founder of Sikhism, was the one who started singing Gurbani Shabad Kirtan."

With the holy recital of the Kirtan, started the grand celebrations in Patna.

Granthi or a priest, who is the custodian of the Guru Granth Sahib, the sacred scripture of the Sikhs, will recite the hymns in the mornings and evenings till the function ends. The shabad kirtan is being recited at centrally located main mandap or the durbar hall. Built with polystyrene (famously known as Thermocol) and plywood, the mandap can accommodate nearly 25,000 devotees at a time.

The tent city at Gandhi Maidan, which is holding the mega event, was opened to common people and devotees on Friday.

The Prakash Utsav at Gandhi Maidan is being held on 61 acres and for entry there are four gates. For Sikh devotees, the entry is through the eastern gate facing Udyog Bhavan, while the VIP entry is through the western gate facing SBI. It is expected that Prime Minister Narendra Modi, chief minister Nitish Kumar, Punjab chief minister Parkash Singh Badal and his deputy Sukhbir Singh Badal will enter through this gate on January 5. The northern and southern sides are meant for common people.

People entering the tent city at Gandhi Maidan were mesmerised with the preparations. Tirath Singh, a resident of Jalandhar, said: "The Bihar government has made remarkable arrangements. We never imagined that the Bihar government would make such massive arrangements. Kudos to chief minister Nitish Kumar. He has shown he is among the few leaders in the country with secular credentials."

Tirath is associated with Balbir Singh Seechewal, popularly known as Eco Baba, who received Padma Vibhushan this year for his effort to make Kali Bein river lively again. Seechewal spearheaded an anti-river pollution campaign.

Devotees reaching Gandhi Maidan were glad that the tourism department gave importance to minute details of Sikhism. The tourism department has set up images of five important places associated with Sikhism in Patna - Bal Leela Gurdwara, Handi Sahib Gurdwara, Guru Ka Bagh Gurdwara, Kangan Ghat Gurdwara and Takht Sri Patna Sahib.