Filmmaker Benoy K. Behl’s documentary ‘Dance of Liberation of the Lamas’ captures the spiritual experience of the Cham.
- Once a great tradition that was practised in Ladakh, Lahaul, Spiti, Kinnaur, Tibet, southern China, today Cham has been kept alive at annual celebrations in parts of Ladakh and Spiti.
- The Cham is one of the very few living examples of the role of dance in ancient India both from the point of view of the practitioner and also the society for which it is performed.
- The Yogachara School of Buddhism was founded in Kashmir in the 4th century by Asanga and Vasubandhu. This developed into the sophisticated Vajrayana form of Buddhism, which incorporated the Cham dance.
- From Ladakh till Mongolia, the Cham is the deepest form of meditation of the Lama. The purpose of this meditation is for the Lama (priest) to be able to free himself entirely from his own ephemeral personality.
- The Lamas celebrate the victory of good over evil with two days of the monastic dance. Cham begins in the morning with the appearance of Lhalung Paldor.
- The costumes and masks are an integral part of the dance. All sounds in the Cham are sacred mantras.
(Source: The Hindu)
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