Nainital hails the colourful autumn festival

Kumaon region,
Nainital (Uttarakhand), Nov 6- ANI: To give the tourism sector a boost in the Uttarakhands Kumaon region, the scenic Nainital city is hosting this year's edition of the annual autumn festival named 'Sharadutsav'.

At a colourful event, the 'curtains-up' for 'Sharadutsav-2009' was witnessed to an overwhelming response of locals and tourists on Thursday.

The five-day festival promises to showcase a lot of programmes to entertain the audience and tourists visiting the hill station.

Apart from presenting the local cultural dance to the audience the programme included a mimicry show by stand up comedian Sudha Mishra.

Renowned Sufi singer Kailash Kher enthralled the audience in his melodious voice with a blend of Bollywood songs and Sufi music.

According to the officials of the Tourism Department, the inflow of tourists this year has increased by 15 percent and no wonder, they expressed happiness at these trends.

If we look from a broader perspective, last year around 6,39,000 tourists visited Nainital. This year till October around 6,50,000 people visited Nainital and by the end of this year we expect the number to reach the range of 7 to 7.45 lakhs, an increase of 15 percent, said J C Beri, Regional Tourist Officer of Kumaon.

On their part, the audience at the festival was thrilled to see popular as well as talented singers and artists performing in the town, famous for its lake.

Till now we had only seen Kailash Kher on television. It was for the first time that we saw him performing live. We really enjoyed his performance and wish that he performs next year also, said Kanika, a local.

Braving the drop in the mercury, the visitors with utmost enthusiasm have been enduring the chill and enjoy the warmth of the festival to the fullest.

On 9 November, it will be 'curtains-down' for the festival 'Sharadutsav Nainital-2009' and the enthralled audience will have to wait for the next year's edition with hopes of similar thrills. - ANI

Buddhist Temple in Dehradun draws tourists

ANI

Dehradun, July 3: Buddhist Temple at Clement Town in Dehradun is attracting tourists from all over the country due to its matchless wall paintings in pure gold colour, meticulously depicting in events in the life of Lord Buddha.

This structure, which was built in 1965, is a replica of original monastery in Tibet. It was created under one of the four schools of Tibetan religion named 'Nyingma', while other three being Kagyu, Sakya and Geluk.About 50 artists took almost three years to paint the walls of the exemplary structure with gold paint.According to temple authorities the religious establishment was built to preserve and promote Tibetan culture in the country."The architecture of chorten (Stupa) is Japanese, although its builder was an Indian. We believe that it is Asia's largest reliquary. It is 220 feet in height. The temple constructed here has five floors. Every floor has a Buddha statue and Gurupadmasambhava's statue amongst others," said Tenkyab Lama, manager, Buddha Temple Committee.The tourists who visit the temple are spellbound to see the colourful paintings on the wall. They describe the serene surroundings of the temple premises as meditative."I have heard about this Buddhist Temple a lot. I have seen amazing example of creativity in its ornate frescoes," said Rajesh Kumar Singh, a tourist from Varanasi.The Stupa accommodates about 500 lamas who are studying there. The residents are being provided with free clothing, eating and medical facilities.The Nyingma School of Tibetan Buddhism was founded by Guru Rinpoche Padmasambhava, in the late eighth century. Guru Rinpoche is credited with building Samye, the first monastery in Tibet, in about 779 CE. By Ashish Goel Copyright Asian News International

Buddhist Temple in Dehradun draws tourists

ANI

Dehradun, July 3: Buddhist Temple at Clement Town in Dehradun is attracting tourists from all over the country due to its matchless wall paintings in pure gold colour, meticulously depicting in events in the life of Lord Buddha.

This structure, which was built in 1965, is a replica of original monastery in Tibet. It was created under one of the four schools of Tibetan religion named 'Nyingma', while other three being Kagyu, Sakya and Geluk.About 50 artists took almost three years to paint the walls of the exemplary structure with gold paint.According to temple authorities the religious establishment was built to preserve and promote Tibetan culture in the country."The architecture of chorten (Stupa) is Japanese, although its builder was an Indian. We believe that it is Asia's largest reliquary. It is 220 feet in height. The temple constructed here has five floors. Every floor has a Buddha statue and Gurupadmasambhava's statue amongst others," said Tenkyab Lama, manager, Buddha Temple Committee.The tourists who visit the temple are spellbound to see the colourful paintings on the wall. They describe the serene surroundings of the temple premises as meditative."I have heard about this Buddhist Temple a lot. I have seen amazing example of creativity in its ornate frescoes," said Rajesh Kumar Singh, a tourist from Varanasi.The Stupa accommodates about 500 lamas who are studying there. The residents are being provided with free clothing, eating and medical facilities.The Nyingma School of Tibetan Buddhism was founded by Guru Rinpoche Padmasambhava, in the late eighth century. Guru Rinpoche is credited with building Samye, the first monastery in Tibet, in about 779 CE. By Ashish Goel Copyright Asian News International