Bhutan home and cultural minister Lyonpo Minjur Dorji (third from left) at Mahabodhi temple in Bodhgaya on Thursday. Picture by Suman

Gaya, Dec. 1: The historic city of Bodhgaya is getting decked up to greet about two lakh Buddhist devotees who are likely to attend the 32nd Kalchakra Puja beginning from December 31.

The Kalchakra Initiation Organisation Committee, 2012, along with the district administration and Bodhgaya Nagar Panchayat, is in charge of the arrangements for the 11-day festival. Tibetan spiritual leader the 14th Dalai Lama and Hollywood actor Richard Gere are expected to attend the annual event.

In January 2010, Gere had visited Bodhgaya for two days, when the 14th Dalai Lama, Tenzin Gyatso, was in the city to deliver a discourse at the Kalchakra Maidan.

Spiritual leaders of other sects of Tibetan Buddhism such as Geluk, Kagyue, Nyingma, Sakya and Bonpo will also be present with the Dalai Lama during the Kalchakra Puja. About 30,000 monks and nuns are expected to be in Bodhgaya for the annual festival.

Kalchakra Initiation Organisation Committee, 2012 joint secretary Thupten Jampa said over two lakh devotees, mainly from Buddhist countries across the world, Europe, America, south-east Asia and the north-eastern states of India are expected to take part in this year’s festival. Registration of the devotees for their participation in the Kalchakra Puja will begin from December 22 and will conclude on December 30.

There is no online registration arrangement for the devotees and they will have to appear in person. Registration forms are available in English and Chinese at the office of the 32nd Kalchakra Initiation Organisation Committee, 2012 that has already started functioning at hotel Mahayana from November 2. The Dalai Lama stays in the hotel during his visit to Bodhgaya.

The main venue of Kalchakra Puja is Kalchakra Maidan, situated towards northwest of the world heritage Mahabodhi Mahavihara. A big pandal is being constructed at the venue. “We are making all arrangements and expect to accommodate at least one lakh devotees at the pandal itself. To ensure smooth entry and exit of the devotees, at least 12 gates are being made at different corners of Kalchakra Maidan,” Jampa said.

Keeping in mind the huge gathering, the organisation committee will install four LED outdoor screens inside the pandal — one each on both sides of the stage and two in the middle of the ground. For the devotees who could not enter the Kalchakra Maidan, more LED screens will be installed outside the venue. The organisers are also making proper sanitation arrangements

For so many devotees assembling in the pandal at Kalchakra Maidan, proper sanitation arrangements are being made. In the outer circle of the Kalchakra Maidan temporary toilets are being made where hygiene will be maintained.

The Dalai Lama’s discourse, which he likely to deliver in Tibetan, will be translated into 15 languages — English, Chinese, Korean, Japanese, Russian, Spanish, Nepalese, Bhutanese, Portuguese, French, Italian, Vietnamese, Hindi, Amdo (a Tibetan dialect) and Monpa (the language of the people of Tawang district in Arunachal Pradesh).

As the devotees will start reaching Bodhgaya from December 20, the Kalchakra Initiation Organisation Committee is constructing about 4,000 tents for the accommodation of all those who will not stay in hotel. The district administration and Bodhgaya Nagar Panchayat have provided land on the campus of Magadh University, situated along the banks of the Falgu, for the tents.