Festival: More than thousand devotees attended the three-day Sarpang tshechu held at the Tali dratshang courtyard in Gelephu.

Not many people turned out On the first day of the tshechu but on the second day more than thousand people attended.

While the elderly were more interested in the mask dances, the younger generations spent more time in the stalls outside the dratshang.

Karma Dema, 66, said that not many people attended the tshechu during its first few years, but in past few years attendance has increased. “I think it is because we have many more people resettled in the dzongkhag,” she said.

A few lhotshampas also attended the tshechu. Prakash, 32, said that not many lhotshampas attend the tshechu as they do not know the meanings behind most of the dances of the tshechu.

The Lam Neten of the dratshang, lam Lotay said that the Sarpang tshechu is held on the eighth day of the twelfth month every year. “It was first started in 1999 by the Je khenpo Tulku Jigme Chhoeda,” he said.

The annual festival is considered the most popular event in the dzongkhag, when people from all its twelve gewogs can gather together.

Yeshey Dema, Gelephu