Kushalnagar: Tibetans at Bylakuppe are celebrating their annual festival Losar under COVID-19 shadow with junior monks taking over the festival while all their senior counterparts have gone to Dharamshala in Himachal Pradesh to spend the New Year with their loved ones.

As per the Tibetan calendar, this is 2148th year and Losar which began on Friday (Feb. 12) ends on Sunday (Feb. 14). While last year was the Year of Iron Mouse, this year it is Year of Iron Ox. Traditionally, the Tibetans follow the lunar pattern in their calendar, wherein one year is made up of twelve months. Others follow Gregorian calendar that is  purely a Solar calendar. Tibetan New Year commences on the first day of the first month of each lunar year.

This year, the Chinese New Year has coincided with Tibetan New Year and this rare phenomenon occurs once in every 100 years or so. Tibetan customs and rituals for commemorating the New Year are deeply rooted in Buddhist ideas and beliefs and their belief is the happiness of the Gods and spirits that would ensure the well-being of the people in the New Year.

Prayers at Bylakuppe for Losar started six days before the festival and there are over 40,000 Tibetans settled here, making it the second largest Tibetan settlement in India after Dharamshala. There are 14 Tibetan Settlements here and there are seven Lama Camps. 

Losar celebrations start with the commemoration of auspicious symbols related to Buddhism. Cleaning the house, especially the kitchen, and preparing special Tibetan dishes are a part of the festival. Religious ceremonies take place in various monasteries and prayers are held to keep evil spirits at bay. 

This year due to COVID-19 pandemic many senior monks have migrated to Ladakh and Dharamshala. The main celebrations at Bylakuppe are at Tashi Lhunpo Monastery that follows Nalanda system of education.  Tantric pujas of protector deity ‘Yamantaka’ begin six days in advance and a figurine is created out of rice and maida dough. They call it ‘Tormo’ and for five days, the faithful will fill the Tormo with negativity so that the New Year will stay positive. 

On the sixth day, Cham Dance — a Monastic Dance in monasteries performed by monks and the Tormo is set on fire to destroy all the bad things of the previous year. Cham Dance is a highly choreographed dance where a select group of the resident monks will perform as directed by the mystic dance master. 

They will be dressed in brightly patterned attire and masks. The performance is a dramatisation of the philosophy of good over evil, and it is also a ritual offering to the deities and guardian of the faith. The masks in Tibetan Cham Dance represent various characters from Tibetan Buddhism Divinities, history and divinities in various manifestations. 

On New Year’s Day, people wake up early and put on new clothes after having taken a bath. They then make offerings to the Gods by placing them on their household shrines and worship them. This day family members also exchange gifts and have a reunion dinner.

This Losar is led by Abbott Zeekgyab Rinpoche, head of Tashi Lhunpo Monastery. Others who are involved in the festivities and are Kunga Negi, General Secretary, Tashi Lhunpo Monastery, Chaphel Thupten, Chief Representative of Tibetan Settlement, Cham Dance Master (Captain) Kachaen Tenpe and Vice-Captain Tenzin.