Worshippers at Gurdwara Sri Guru Singh celebrated Vaisakhi Day on Saturday with religious services and singing of Shabads (Sikh holy hymns) by minstrels througout the day.

Last Sunday, to mark the start of the celebrations, more than 8,000 people took part in a Vaisakhi Nagar Kirtan, or procession, through Hounslow.

At 11 am on Saturday, services within the prayer hall at Alice Way, Hanworth Road, Hounslow, were halted and the congregation gathered in the Gurdwara car park facing the Khalsa flag.

The worshippers lowered the flagpole, removed existing saffron robes which were wrapped around it, washed it with natural yoghurt and rinsed with water.

New saffron robes were then wrapped round it and the flag was raised back up again and young people sang the Sikh national anthem .The proceedings took place in the presence of the Panj Pyaray (The Beloved Five).

Vaisakhi Day is auspicious for Sikhs marking a unique event which took place in 1699, when the first five Sikhs were initiated into Khalsa and became forever known as the Panj Pyaray.

Following the initiation, Guru Gobind, the 10th Sikh Guru proclaimed that all Sikh men would in future be known as Khalsa (The Pure). Men were to have the suffix Singh (lion) and women Kaur (Princess) to their names.

To order these pictures or others in our selection visit rttimes.co.uk for more details