KEYLONG: Snow Festival of Lahaul was organized with fanfare and aplomb on January 25 2021, Himachal Pradesh's statehood day for the first time in this tribal belt. The idea was to attract tourists in winter months after the historic Atal Rohtang tunnel opened this otherwise snow bound valley to the outside world round the year.
But a year down the line in 2022, Snow festival witnessed a token ceremony performed by cabinet minister and local legislator Dr Ram Lal Markande in Udaipur due to the pandemic that kept it confined to few local pockets. The district administration and government have yet to bring all stakeholders, NGOs and snow sports promoters on board to bring Snow Festival on the tourism map of India and of the world.
The festival had got a promising response from locals, who have opened over 300 home stays in a hope to enchase on tourism that the Atal Rohtang Tunnel has supposedly unleashed in the valley.
The Snow festival more or less coincided with Halda, local traditional festival in which locals take out big fuelwood torch firelights in a hope to ring in good fortune after the hard winter life by moving from village to village. By all means, the full potential of the Snow festival is yet to see the light of the day in Lahaul valley, which is a big reservoir of snow promising immense potential for skiing and snow sports. The HP tourism department has yet to identify the skiing sites for tourists and locals.
Rigzin Hayerpa, former vice-chairman, Zila Parishad, Lahaul-Spiti, who is also a core member of the organizing team, says, “The Snow festival has become a people’s movement. For the first time ever we have had the Chief Secretary as well as the Principal Secretary visit us in Lahaul during the winter to attend the festival. We plan to run it for 76 days across different panchayats and make it the longest running winter festival in the world”.
The festival showcases winter and traditional sports, folks dances and music, local cuisines, artifacts, dresses, snow sculptures and much more. “All of this is being organized with zero budgetary support from the government - the funds coming in from the locals themselves. We hope to be in contention for the prestigious SKOCH Awards,” he adds.
Everyone is not on the same page on this issue. Ajey, a reputed Hindi poet from Lahaul says, “Although it feels good and nostalgic to see cultural activities and exhibitions on social media, the prolonged nature of the festival is certainly tiring and repetitive. Instead of quantity, I would definitely suggest focusing on improving the quality of the festival next year, even if that means working on a larger budget. This is the first time the outside world will experience our culture on our own turf. It definitely deserves to be showcased on a superior quality platform that is aesthetic, shorter and dignified.”
To cash in on the tourist opportunity in a sustainable way, the local administration also organized a single window registration camp for home-stays. “More than 300 home-stays were registered in two days in 2021. More were registered outside of the single-window period taking the total to 400+.
The administration now plans to organize similar registration windows in different parts of Lahaul with an ambitious target of 600. This is a clear sign of the eagerness of the locals to cater to the tourists and seek new sources of income. A number of hotels at different stages of construction are also coming up along the main highway.
Sushila Rana, Pradhan of Gram Panchayat Goushal says, “Yes, there is considerable interest from locals to get their home stays registered. However, it is too early to say how this will pan out. There is much to observe, learn and adjust in the coming years.”
In 2022 the Snow festival went unnoticed as far as the tourists are concerned as the valley received snowfall twice and most of the hotels were shut down due to the freezing of water supplies. The government must take steps to provide water supplies in the winter months like it is being done in Ladakh so that the tourists and locals do not face problems due to lack of water and all home stays and hotels run smoothly, demand the hoteliers.
The clash of cultures is inevitable, but the locals and district administration need to work in unison to prevent unwanted unsavory scenes.
On a good touristy day, it is not uncommon to notice SUVs blaring loud music while crossing the Atal Rohtang tunnel, or groups of young men dancing on the road sides with their shirts off. There have also been some reports of eve-teasing and thefts, something that was unheard of in Lahaul before.
Vijay Kapoor, former pradhan and farmer, says, “During the harvesting season, it is normal for us to leave sacks of potatoes on the fields or near the usual pick-up points for buyers. This time there have been reports of hundreds of sacks of potatoes stolen from multiple locations which is very unusual for us. Even bags of vermi-compost have gone missing. In the village of Phuda, apples were stolen and orchards emptied overnight.”
It boils down to say that the snow festival should not only showcase traditional Halda, Losar or other coincidental festivities, but the government should chip in unison with local sports clubs and NGOs to organize winner sports like skiing, snow boarding and other events to attract winter sports lovers from across the country and outside that will also promote sports among local youth. This will put Snow Festival in the cultural roots of Lahaul-Spiti and with a passage of time, it will evolve into a unique Lahauli style event to make its mark on the tourism map of the world.
Lahaul is undergoing a churn. As M.S. Gill suggests in his book, "Lahaul people are intelligent, hardworking, proud, and objectively receptive to new ideas - a closely knit community with a strong tradition of helping each other move forward together". These traits could yet be our guiding light as we move ahead into a promising future evolving the festivities in an ethnic spirit.
(Ateesh Kropha is Lauhaul-based writer and contributor to HimbuMail).
