Cultural Festival showcases art, handicrafts & history
“Thank You India” said, the people of Tibet, who have been living in India since 1960. The Central Tibetan Administration organized a three-day “Cultural Festival of Tibet” at India International Centre recently. The event brought artists, food, culture, Tibetan handicrafts and loads of Tibetan history to Delhi.
This entire event was organized to celebrate the long cultural ties with India and appreciating India’s role in helping people of Tibet Dhardon Sharling, Secretary of CTA’s Information Department.
Several talks were organized on the struggle of Tibetan people during the Festival. Artist includes nomadic weavers of Tibet, bronze sculptures of Buddha statues and several arts and crafts demonstrations during the week.
The Gyuto monastery monks demonstrated the sand art and special butter art was also present in the festival.
Monks believe that creating such intricate art is a form of meditation for them. Sand art is done by holding a sand filled brass funnel in one hand. The other hand creates vibration leaving sand on the paper.
The butter sculpture installation is a sacred offering molded by hand and decorated in the most colorful ways with varied motifs and flowers. The installation consists of a variety of sizes, ranging from a few centimeters to several meters.
An amazing Tibetan calligrapher, Jamyang Dorjee created several iconic arts with Tibetan mantras written on them. It is indeed breathtaking to watch him do calligraphy. It is like a conductor creating symphony of music.
A photo exhibition by the Tibet Museum put on display a large number of pictures to showcase the Indo-Tibetan ancient ties, Tibet’s journey in exile and Dalai Lama’s escape and entry into India. “Through these we want youngsters to connect with origin of Tibet issue and its history,” observed Dhardon.
Tibetan charts on astrology, traditional medicines, arts and several other ancient forms of Tibetan culture and methodology used were on display.
The Festival ended with traditional Tibetan dance and dinner organized jointly by IIC.
Krishan Sharma
India Post News Service
