A Tibetan dance in progress at the golden jubilee celebrations of the Zangdok Palri gumba. Picture by Chinlop Fudong Lepcha

Kalimpong, Nov. 19: The golden jubilee of the Zangdok Palri gumba atop Durpin Hill here was observed today with a colourful programme at the monastery.

Devotees from different parts of the Darjeeling hills, Sikkim and Bhutan took part in prayers and watched cultural programmes to celebrate the day. Tourists, both domestic and foreign, were also seen enjoying themselves at the monastery, which over the years has become a major attraction for visitors to this hill town.

Work on Zangdok Palri began on May 13, 1957 and the gumba was inaugurated on November 19 the same year. This was preceded by around 11 years of collecting money for the monastery. Nawang Namgyal Sherpa, the then secretary of the Gumba Nirman Committee that was formed in 1946, is given the sole credit for organising the fund-raising drive.

Over the years, the monastery has grown, with new structures coming up on the complex.

The current president of the gumba, Tshering Sherpa, told The Telegraph today that efforts will now be made to preserve the monastery like a heritage property.

“Zangdok Palri has gone on to become not only an important place for all practitioners of the Buddhist faith, but also a popular tourist site,” he said.

A group of women devotees from Sonada said they had come to celebrate the occasion because to them all monasteries were equally sacred.

“I know it is not a very old monastery, but I keep coming here to enjoy the serenity of the place,” said Ningma Lhamu Sherpa, a member of the Sonada team.

Another devotee from Bhutan, who identified himself as Pasang, had much the same thing to say.

“I love coming to this monastery. Maybe it is because of the serene ambience,” said Pasang as he enjoyed a Tibetan dance performed by the resident lamas of Zangdok Palri.