Nying-ma-pa Monastery, Rewalsar, Himachal Pradesh, India.
Photo © Mohit Gupta, All Rights Reserved

Origin of sacred dance of Chham probably goes back to ninth century when Guru Padmasambhava introduced Buddhism in Tibet. The monk-dancers perform the iconographic and choreographic sequences as written in the dance manual; enacting the liturgical text, which is simultaneously recited by monks sitting in the orchestra on the edge of the dance area.

The photograph was taken during one such performance in a monastery at Rewalsar. Rewalsar is a very small town, around 24km from Mandi. The place is inhabited around a small lake which is sacred to Hindus, Buddhists and Sikhs alike.