Ravangla, Sept. 2: Hectic preparations are on in this subdivisional town in south Sikkim to celebrate the Pang Lhabsol festival.

Every year, Ravangla plays host to some 30,000 people who come from all over the state and outside to participate in the festival. The celebrations kick off on September 8 and continue for three days.

Pang Lhabsol is unique to Sikkim. Its origin is shrouded in legend and lost in the mists of time. Over the years, the annual festival has become synonymous with Ravangla — an upcoming tourist destination — where it is celebrated with pomp and ceremony.

The festival, which begins on the 15th day of the seventh month of the lunar calendar, is held to worship and pay respect to Sikkim’s guardian deity Khangchenjunga.

Khangchendzonga (as it is often referred to) means the house of five treasures. It is considered the foremost sacred treasure of the state and disrespect to the mountain is said to bring calamities to the land.

The Pang Lhabsol festival is held to placate the gods residing in the snow ranges. The history of the festival is not clearly known but tradition has it that Kanchendzonga was regarded as the guardian deity of the land even when Lepcha chief Thekong Tek and Bhutia chieftain Khye Bhumsa took the oath of blood-brotherhood at Kabi Longstok in the 13th century.

Pang Lhabsol used to be celebrated with much splendour during the days of the Chogyals. The day was also observed as the Sikkimese national day during the reign of the Namgyal dynasty.

The festival, in those days, began with prayers being offered to the mountain at Tsuklakhang (the royal chapel) in Gangtok, beseeching Kangchenjunga and Yabdi, the supreme celestial commander, to bless Sikkim with peace and prosperity.

The prayers at Tsuklakhang were conducted by monks of the Pemayangtse monastery in west Sikkim.

A ritual dance, called the Pangtoed chaam, was also performed. The chaam, which is more of a warrior dance, was first started by Chogyal Chakdor Namgyal sometime in the 17th century. The dance depicts a dream sequence of the Chogyal.

The celebrations at Ravangla began some 20 years ago when Sonam Dorjee, the then subdivisional officer, currently a member of the Sikkim legislative assembly, took the initiative to organise the festival with the help of local people. These days, the festival is organised by the Pang Lhabsol Celebration Committee headed by health minister D. D. Bhutia.

The enthusiasm of local people and officials of the subdivision has ensured the success of the celebrations every year.