Continuing an age-old tradition, the historic Gorsam Kora festival was held at the Gorsam Chorten stupa in Arunachal Pradesh's Zemithang. The three-day festival started on March 18 and ended on Tuesday.
The sky-high stupa, about 92 kilometres from Tawang, was constructed by Lama Prathar from Kharman village in Zemithang in the 13th century. This festival, which showcases the rich cultural and religious heritage of the northeastern region, attracts pilgrims from both India and Bhutan to the historic Gorsam Chorten stupa. Thousands of devotees visit during Gorzam Kora festival to observe the virtuous occasion during the last day of the first month of the lunar calendar.
The annual pilgrimage bears testimony to the historical linkages between India and Bhutan, witnessed by the spiritual connection that exists between Chorten Kora in Bhutan’s Trashi Yangtse and Gorsam Kora in Zemithang, both being modeled after the Boudhanath Khasti Chaitya stupa in Nepal.
The Chorten Kora is an important stupa next to the Kholongchu River in Trashi Yangtse in East Bhutan while the Boudhanath Khasti stupa is located about 11 kilometres from the center and northeastern outskirts of Nepal’s Kathmandu. Its massive mandala makes it one of the largest spherical stupas in Nepal and the world.
Zemithang, one of the villages being developed under the Vibrant Village Programme, is the last administrative headquarters of the Indian administration towards the Tibet border. The festival was organized with the support of the local community of Zemithang with assistance from the local administration and the Indian Army.
The event commenced with an opening prayer by Padam Shree Thengtse Rinpoche and prayers at Khinzemane holy tree. It is believed that the Khinzemane holy tree was planted by the Tibetan spiritual leader, the 14th Dalai Lama, when he came to India in 1959 via the Khinzemane-Zemithang route in Tawang.
The pilgrims and tourists also visited the Namkha Chu War Memorial to pay tributes to the martyrs of the 1962 Sino-India war. The Indian Army organised various events, including pipe band and martial arts dance performances, followed by cultural dance recitals by locals.
As part of the government’s Vibrant Village Programme, certain activities were conducted to engage the local population, like the run for plastic-free Zemithang, a medical camp, and a trek along the pristine Zemithang valley. The festival was attended by numerous pilgrims and Lamas from Bhutan, Tawang and other nearby places.
The Indian Army worked together with the local population and civil administration to successfully conduct the festival conveying its steadfast resolve towards ensuring the integration of people living in remote areas with the mainstream, as part of the national building efforts in the region.