Every year, in June-July, the Ladakh region of Jammu Kashmir gears up for the grandest event of the area, the Hemis festival. Hemis Monastery, the venue of the festival, is the wealthiest Buddhist monastery in India. No wonder, then, that the annual festival of Hemis is not just a local affair. Rather, it is an event that attracts thousands of Buddhists from all over the world. History also has records of the 1st Prime Minister of independent India, Jawahar Lal Nehru, participating in the event in 1949.
The festival marks the birth of Guru Padmasambhava, the founder of tantric Buddhism in Tibet. Masked dances are the highlights of this festival. These dances, for which the participants prepare in advance, depict the victory of good over evil. It is believed that Guru Padmasambhava battled with evil forces to ensure the safety of the local people. The masks themselves are works of art and represent guardian divinities of the Drukpa order to which the Hemis Monastery belongs. Apart from the masked dances, what attracts the attention of visitors is the fair which sees Ladakhis coming out in best of their colourful dresses. The fair offers excellent opportunities for shoppers to pick up some handicraft items of the area. A two storey Thangka displayed once in every 12 years is yet another highlight of the festival. The entire festival is presided over by the Rimpoche, the head Lama of the Hemis Monastery.
Foreign tourists coming from abroad to attend the Hemis festival are mostly Germans, Britons, Americans, French, Swiss, Italians and Israelites. Asian tourists from Korea, Japan, Thailand, Tibet, Singapore and SriLanka follow. This inflow of foreign tourists gives a big boost to tourism in the region. Tour operators come out with packages that take take tourists to the Hemis festival. Infact, this year, the Himachal Pradesh tourism department has also rolled out a special Manali-Leh (Manali being one of the base to reach Leh, the capital of Ladakh. The other base is Srinagar) journey package. This package covers over 400 km of Lahaul-Ladakh Cold Desert and offers tourists a chance to savour the stupendous beauty of the route.
Participating in Hemis festival is like giving oneself an opportunity to understand the local culture of the Buddhist people. It is truly not to be missed for those interested in cultural tourism in India.
Know more about hemis Festival here
2 comments:
Hi Harshita, truly speaking I am a Christian but I also love other religions and want to know more about their rituals. Buddhism is one of the biggest religions of world and India has a number of sites related to Lord Buddha. Unfortunately I couldn't participate in the Hemis festival, but next year I will surely participate in the festival to know more about Buddhism.
Boat races of India are really awesome especially when it comes to those fascinating 100 m long boats. I an enthralled to learn about 'Payippad Snake Boat', that won the coveted trophy for three consecutive years. The Buddhist Hemis Festival is just another event that speaks of the diverse religions practiced in India. So,I would say that your blog is a very informative.
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