Look up at the night sky and watch the stars. Not possible in smoggy cities? A three-day festival at a village in the Buxa hills in the Alipurduar district is coming right up.
The festival, which is from November 15 to 17 in the pristine spot, will promote stargazing. At the same time, it will promote the area and also showcase the culture, cuisine, and handicrafts of the Dukpa community that lives in the region.
The Association for Conservation & Tourism (ACT) will organise the event that has been named the Dukpa Living Heritage Festival at Lepchakha, the village in the Buxa hills that also houses the famous Buxa Fort.
“Dukpas are one of the oldest communities in north Bengal. The festival has been planned at the grounds of the Buxa Fort to promote their ethnic culture, traditions, cuisine, and handicrafts,” said Raj Basu, the convener of ACT.
Basu said that they had joined hands with the Sky Watchers' Association of North Bengal (SWAN) — an organisation of amateur sky watchers and star-gazers — to promote Lepchakha differently.
“The area will be promoted as a 'dark destination', that is an ideal place for skywatching. The sky remains crystal clear above the Buxa hills during the winter months and we have joined hands with SWAN so that people interested in skywatching can find a new place to watch stars and planets,” he said.
Located around 35 kilometres away from Alipurduar town, Lepchakha stands at an elevation of 3,500 feet above sea level.
Around 2,800 people of the Dukpa community live in Lepchakha village, which is also known for its orange orchards.
Possibly because of the orchards, as well as the wildflowers that grow in the area, it sees a lot of butterflies. Hence, the area is also popular among butterfly lovers and ornithologists.
“Dukpas are mostly into farming and orange cultivation. We want to highlight their ethnic cultural activities,” said Soham Chakraborty, executive secretary of the organising committee of the fest.
Altogether, around 80 individuals from different parts of the country have confirmed their participation in the three-day fest, Oshan Lepcha, the coordinator of ACT, told this newspaper.
