When: To be confirmed (March, 2021) Where: Paro, Bhutan
The Paro Tsechu Festival is a Buddhist dance festival and one of the major annual events of Bhutan. The festival holds religious significance and is held to commemorate Guru Rinpoche, who brought tantric Buddhism, also known as Tibetan Buddhism, in Bhutan. The Paro Tsechu Festival is a wonderful time to visit Bhutan, experience its ancient culture, and get enthralled in the celebrations. The festival comes alive with vibrant colours, music, dances and drama as people gather to enjoy the masked dances, and other sacred rituals.
Celebrations of Paro Tsechu Festival
The first day of the Paro Tsechu Festival usually has rituals being held inside the courtyard of the fortress, Paro Dzong. The celebrations of Paro Tsechu Festival, on rest of the days, take place outside in an open ground. On the final day, the festivities conclude with the display of a giant Thongdrol (religious picture) of Guru Rinpoche before dawn and blessings being provided.
The Paro Tsechu Festival has many local people of the Paro region, arriving at the venue to be a part of the festivities. They come fully clad in their finest attire and jewellery. Dancers dressed in fancy costumes perform masked dances and dramas, seeking to portray Guru Rinpoche, and to celebrate the events in his life. They dance to the beats of trumpets, cymbals, flutes and folksongs, and demonstrate the triumph of good over evil. Consumption of butter tea and strong barley alcohol is a part of the merriment.
