Buddha Jayanti celebrated with much gusto after two years in Darjeeling Hills

Darjeeling: Buddha Jayanti was celebrated with much gusto in the Darjeeling Hills on Monday. Celebrations had come to a standstill for the past two years owing to the Covid-19 Pandemic. However rain played spoilsport to the grand celebrations.

The day started with heavy rainfall. This emerged as a major damper to the Buddha Jayanti processions that are taken out from different monasteries, throughout the Hills. The IMD had issued a heavy rainfall warning for Monday and the next few days.

"Heavy to very heavy rainfall (7 to 20 cm) is likely to occur at one or two places over Sikkim and North Bengal during the next 48 hours. Warning has also been issued for heavy rainfall for subsequent 72 hours over North Bengal," stated Dr. Gopinath Raha, in charge of the IMD, Gangtok.

Buddha Jayanti on Monday started with prayers "Sangchuyey Monlam" (Prayers for peace for all sentient beings) by the monks. The procession that followed were a riot of color and sound.

Monks dressed in traditional clothes and hats, carrying traditional lamaistic musical instruments like the conch, bell, Gyeling (wind instrument), cymbals and drums, carrying makeshift shrines with statues of Lord Buddha and important Buddhist texts called the "Pushtaks," went around the town. Water and juice stations were opened up by local residents offering water and fruit juice to the participants.

"I have never witnessed anything like this during my past travels. It portrays the diverse and rich culture of the Hills," stated Abhay Bhosle, a tourist from Mumbai.

Trigger happy tourists could be seen at the Mall clicking photographs of the colourful processions.