Skip to main content

Hemis Festival

Hemis Festival / Image Festival

Come the 10th day of the fifth month of the Tibetan calendar and Hemis Gompa, the largest and wealthiest monastery in Ladakh, plays host to one of the most important festivals of Ladakh. For visitors seeking a rendezvous with the unique Ladakh’s culture, the two- day Hemis Festival makes for a great opportunity offering them a matchless spectacle of masked dances, traditional music, religious rituals and ceremonies and a lifetime opportunity to sample the delicious cuisines of Ladakh. 

Hemis Festival commemorates the birth anniversary of Guru Padmasambhava, the founder of the Vajrayana Buddhism in Ladakh. The festival brings out the extroverted side of the famously friendly people of Ladakh.

Sitting on a hillock, Hemis Gompa is 40km from Leh and the centerpiece of any visit to Ladakh. During the celebration of the Hemis festival the monastery comes alive with the spectacular mask dance by the lamas to the accompaniment of drums, cymbals and long horns.

During the Hemis Festival you will have the opportunity to sample the rich cuisines of Ladakh in the stalls outside. Here you can also pick up gifts and souvenirs.  



Comments

Popular posts from this blog

St Paul’s Cathedral, Kolkata

St Paul’s Cathedral, Kolkata / image Credit A fine specimen of Indo-Gothic architecture modelled after the Canterbury Cathedral,  St Paul’s Cathedral in Kolkata is billed as one of the most important churches of India. Located east of the Victoria Memorial, the church houses the best stained glass window in the country. Built in 1847, St Paul’s Cathedral underwent redesigning and reconstruction after the damage to the structure in 1897 earthquake.

Tomb of Sheikh Kabiruddin Auliya

Shaikh Kabbiruddin Auliya was a disciple of 14th century sufi saint Shaikh Nasiruddin Muhamud, better known as Shaikh Raushan Chirag-i-Delhi (the lamp of Delhi), who in turn was the disciple and successor of Shaikh Nizamuddin Aulia, the most prominent Sufi saint of the of Chisti silsilah, the most popular of the orders into which Sufis were organized.  Chirag-i-Delhi’s other famous disciple was Gesudaraz Syed Muhamad Husayni, famously  known as Bandanawaz (benefactor of the creatures of God). Gesudaraz who was responsible for the spread of Chisti order in South India, had made Gulbarga in Karnataka his base. Situated in Malviya Nagar locality in Delhi, the tomb of Sheikh Kabiruddin Auliya is locally known as Lal Gumbad. 

त्योहार

मैसूर दशहरा विश्व प्रसिद्ध मैसूर दशहरा की उत्पत्ति 15 सदी में विजयनगर साम्राज्य के समय हुई थी. विजयनगर के पतन के बाद मैसूर के राजा वाडियार ने 1610 में इस रंगीन और धार्मिक उत्सव को मानाने की प्रथा की शुरुआत की और बाद में वाडियार राजाओं के  तत्वावधान में  यह त्यौहार पूरे धूमधाम से मनाया जाने लगा. दस दिनों तक चलने वाला  मैसूर दशहरा विजयदशमी के दिन समाप्त होता है. मैसूर दशहरा को नाद  हब्बा' या राज्य के त्योहार के रूप में घोषित किया गया है किंवदंती है कि मैसूर का  राक्षस ' महिषासुर' का वध वादियारों की कुल देवी  चा मुंडेश्वरी के द्वारा किया गया था.  इसे असत्य पर सत्य की विजय के रूप में मनाया जाता है। इसीलिये इसे विजयादशमी के नाम से जाना जाता है। दशहरा के समय रौशनी से सुजज्जित मैसूर महल और पूरे शहर का दृश्य देखने लायक ही बनता है. सितम्बर १८०५ में   वाडियार राजाओं ने मुग़ल शाशकों के तर्ज पर शाही परिवार के सदस्यों, यूरोपीय, महल के अधिकारियों, शाही याजकों और प्रभुध नागरिकों के लिए एक विशेष दरबार लगाने की शुरुआत की .  धीरे धीरे यह त्यो