Bomdila's GRL Monastery holds 20th Torgya festival; ends Nov 10

The 20th Drub-Chod Chenmo Torgya Festival is under way at the GRL Monastery in Bomdila, the headquarters of Arunachal Pradesh's West Kameng district, with Buddhist rituals, prayers, masked monastic dances and cultural programmes drawing large crowds.

The four-day festival began on Saturday, November 7, and concludes on Tuesday, November 10. It is being held in the presence of Zangling Tulku Rinpoche, the abbot of the monastery, Echo of Arunachal reported.

DC calls for kindness and compassion

Addressing devotees, West Kameng Deputy Commissioner Dr Dilip Kumar greeted the gathering and described Torgya as a celebration of peace, harmony and collective well-being.

He spoke about the Buddha's teachings of daya (kindness), ahimsa (non-violence) and karuna (compassion), and asked people to practise them in daily life. The DC praised the monastery for keeping Buddhist rituals and heritage alive, urged young people to stay connected to their roots, and said the district administration would keep backing cultural and social welfare work.

Superintendent of Police Dr DW Thongon, senior Army officers and heads of government offices also attended.

What Torgya is

Torgya is a monastic festival of the Monpa Buddhist tradition, marked by masked cham dances performed by monks in the monastery courtyard. The rituals are meant to drive away evil and bring peace and prosperity for the year ahead. Bomdila's monastery, known as Gontse Gaden Rabgye Ling, is one of the main Buddhist centres in western Arunachal.

Relics still on view

The festival coincides with the public exposition of the sacred Piprahwa relics of the Buddha in Bomdila. The DC urged people to visit the Lower Gompa for darshan of the relics, which remain open to the public until November 13.

The relics were earlier shown in Tawang, where more than 31,000 people visited, before moving to Bomdila, where over 4,000 people offered prayers on the opening day.