Guwahati to host Tibetan festival in February

Want to enjoy Tibetan traditional 'thangka' paintings and savour Tibetan cuisines? Visit Guwahati, as it hosts the Festival of Tibetan Art and Culture from Feb 2, organisers said here Thursday.

Tibetan spiritual leader the Dalai Lama will visit the festival, a Central Tibetan Administration spokesperson told IANS.

Arunachal Pradesh Tourism and Rural Works Development Minister Pema Khandu, who is also the chairman of the festival organising committee, will accompany the spiritual leader, the spokesperson said.

The five-day festival will showcase a photo exhibition 'Tibet: A long look homeward', traditional Tibetan dances by the Tibetan Institute of Performing Arts, documentary films, and talks and seminars.

"Through the festival, we hope to bring Tibet closer to the minds of the people of the northeast, including the Assamese people," said Karma Yeshi, Tibetan parliamentarian and a member of the organising committee of the festival.

Visitors can appreciate the Tibetan traditional 'thangka' paintings drawn by Tibetan artists, savour Tibetan cuisine, watch monks create sand 'mandalas' and butter sculpture, and Tibetan woodcraft. They can also buy traditional Tibetan handicraft products made by Tibetan refugees.

The Dalai Lama has lived in India since fleeing his homeland in 1959. The Tibetan exile administration is based in this northern Indian hill town in Himachal Pradesh.