Tibetans set to celebrate Losar fest from today

Mysuru: The Tibetans who migrated from thousands of miles away after China invaded their homeland are well-settled in the State and other places in the country. Their major settlement is Mundagod in Uttar Kannada district and Bylakuppe in Periyapatna taluk of Mysuru district. Bylakuppe is the second largest Tibetan settlement in the country after Dharmashala in Himachala Pradesh. Tibetans celebrate Losar (new year) festival with fervour for 15 days, from March 3 to 18. However, due to the prevalence of Covid-19 the Tibetan settlements did not celebrate the festival.

The Golden temple of the Tibetans at Bylakuppe which remained closed for two years due to the pandemic, has reopened two months ago. This year Ladakh BJP MP Jamyang Tsering Namgyal is participating in the celebrations at Bylakuppe on Thursday.

During Losar, the Tibetans abstain from drinking champagne.

They go to a local spring to perform a ritual of gratitude and make offerings to Nagas, the water spirits who activated the water element in the area.

Tibetans follow a practice called Gutur before welcoming new year.

They believe that through Gutur they control evil powers. The Buddhist monks pray whole day to mark Gutur. They organise cultural programme, traditional dances to mark the festival by wearing tiger mask. The celebration also attracts thousands of tourists.