Who are the actors and organizers participating in the Dussehra processions? And what motivates them to be a part of it? Click on any image for a larger view For one, most of them are not professional actors. They are students, businessmen and professionals who stop whatever they are doing for a fortnight to be a part of the festivities. [...]
No other festival in India is celebrated the way Dussehra is. It is celebrated in most parts of the country, and stretches to 10-12 days. You can witness stage performances of Ramayana, the story of Hindu God Rama, fairs, special prayer sessions and burning of the effigy of Ravana, the demon king slayed by Lord Rama. But few people know [...]
I went looking for the famed oracles of Matho gompa. I was disappointed to learn that they appear only during the annual Nagrang Festival in February or March. Dorje Palzang, Matho’s founder, brought from Tibet the two brothers Rongtsan Kar and Mar, known for their protective powers. The oracles now are two lamas from Matho (chosen every four years), possessed [...]
While visiting the Basgo monastery, I heard some drums beating from the village below. Curious, I followed these sounds through some village trails – and chanced upon an annual archery competition taking place. {Click on any of the images for a larger view} Sonam Angchok, one of the participants who also works in the local post office, and others were [...]
I was lucky to have been in Bikaner to witness their annual camel festival held from January 10-12 this year. One of the most fascinating events was the fire dance performed by members of the Siddh who are known to have a special vardaan or divine powers to be able to walk and dance of burning wood and coal. See [...]
This image was taken by me at Hemis Monastery near Leh in Ladakh on the occasion of their annual festival in June 2008. It had started raining on the day – totally unseasonal in this cold desert area, and despite the Lamas (Buddhist monks) being sure it never rains on the festival weekend – and everyone was waiting for the [...]
Many Buddhist monasteries in the Ladakh and Tibetan regions have a tradition of annual festivals, going back hundreds of years. They are usually dance spectacles with colourful costumes and masks adorned by the lamas (monks) for the occasion. Solemn ceremonies in their own way, it borders on the amusing when you see them practicing leading up to the big day. [...]
Designed by
Copyright © 2012 Kunzum. All rights reserved.
This site is protected with Urban Giraffe's plugin 'HTML Purified' and Edward Z. Yang's 
. 59623 items have been purified.
RSS
Email
Twitter
Facebook
LinkedIn
Flickr
YouTube
