Sonia to inaugurate sixth Buddha Mahotsava

Tawang (Arunachal Pradesh), Nov 2: UPA chairperson and Congress President Sonia Gandhi will inaugurate the sixth three-day Buddha Mahotsava here on November 5, celebrating the 2,550th year of Lord Buddha's Mahaparinirvana.

Ms Gandhi will also visit the about the 400-year-old Tawang Monastery, the second largest and oldest in the world, during her stay in Tawang, one of the principal seats of Buddhism.

An official said the UPA chairperson will also be accompanied by Union Minister for North East Region Mani Shanker Aiyer and other officials.

''All the arrangements are in place for the event and all the people involved participating in it, particularly the children, are looking forward to it,'' he added.

The Buddha Mahotsava, a festival that brings out the Buddhist influence on the life of the people here, is a celebration of art, culture, heritage and people of the ''Hidden Paradise'', located in the western-most corner of the country.

''It will aim to promote the state symbolising unity in diversity and portray the uniqueness of the whole region,'' he said.

Ms Gandhi will also be presented the 'Shingka'-- the traditional dress consisting of a red coloured gown with white stripes covering the body from the shoulder to the knees which is girdled at the waist by a sash-- worn by women.

The majestic Tawang Monastery, perched atop a ridge at more than 10,000 ft, was founded by Mera Lama Lodre Gyatso in 1681 in accordance with the wishes of the fifth Dalai Lama Nawang Lobsang Gyatso.

Volunteers from the neighbouring areas helped build the Monastery, one of the grandest lamaseries of the Mahayana sect in Asia, and even today villagers are responsible for its upkeep.

Built like a fortress, the monastery is grandiloquently called 'Galden Namgyal Lhaste,' meaning the celestial paradise and is next only to the Lhasa Monastery.

A treasure trove of Buddhist history, it houses huts for lamas, meeting hall, library, school for basic education, community kitchen and the main temple called the 'Dukhang' which has an imposing 30 ft gilded statue of the Buddha.

Apart from this, idols of other Buddhist deities, elaborate mural painting, priceless documents, texts and thangkas (scroll paintings having images of Buddhist deities and literature written in gold.

It can host more than 700 monks and controls 17 Gompas and a few nunneriesof the region.

UNI