TAWANG, Oct 26: Chief Minister Pema Khandu declared open the 6th Tawang Festival, themed ‘Environment and nature’, amid much fanfare here on Friday.
The festival began with Drekar, a monologue wishing wellbeing to the sentient beings, which was followed by Tashi Choepa, the offering of songs to the gods. The objective of the festival is to showcase the rich cultural heritage of Tawang and boost tourism in the district.
In the morning, more then 200 dancers from various villages participated in a street show for two hours. Dances included yak pantomime, baa chham (mask dance), showa chham (stag dance), lion dance, gyep-gyem (the king and queen dance), buchung chham (the dancer with phallus in hand), and ngabro (the monkey masked dance).
Cultural troupes from Meghalaya and Uttar Pradesh also presented cultural dances under the ‘Ek Bharat Shresth Bharat’ initiative.
MoS for Home Affairs Kiren Rijiju inaugurated the exhibition and food stall at the Men-tsem-tse festival ground.
Addressing the revellers in the evening, Pema said the state government has under his initiative started various cultural, adventure, and music festivals. He said the government would soon launch a policy to boost tourism in the state.
Among others, news anchor of India Today, Rahul Kanwal, singer Mohit Chauhan, and Bollywood director Imtiaz Ali were present at the inaugural function.
Tourism Minister Jarkar Gamlin, MLAs PD Sona and Tsering Tashi, and other dignitaries also attended the cultural event.
Earlier, the chief minister visited Bhekhar village, home to the 6th Dalai Lama’s maternal uncle. The 6th Dalai Lama – Gyalwa Tsangyang Gyatso – was born in Tawang.
The CM also visited Kushang Nang, which means ‘maternal uncle’s place’. The place houses a monastery, and a museum displaying ancient Buddhist artifacts. (CMO and DIPRO)
